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kuroos-babie · 3 years

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falling in love with a single mom hcs

INCLUDES: nishinoya, tsukishima, yaku

you spent a good part of your childhood with nishinoya, chasing away the dogs that had a penchant of scaring your best friend shitless, climbing trees and playing treasure hunt

it was funny, to say the least, seeing how he grew from such a scaredy-cat to the energetic and confident noya everyone knows

throughout highschool you watched him chase girl after girl and he watched you turn down guy after guy

the dynamic you two had was that of a feral gremlin child and its chill owner holding the leash and everyone, including you two, thought you would always be together

everyday was fun with nishinoya's energy hanging around you, no doubt

but when he asked you to travel the world with him right after graduation, he was met with a hesitant refusal

"i'm planning to go to college, yuu"

"it'll be fun, y/n! like going on an adventure!!"

"visit me once in a while"

his heart clenched at the way you smiled at him with teary eyes, "i can't change your mind can i?"

with a soft shake of your head, he sighed

he leaves in three days

the first few months of him being away were filled with calls and pictures of his trips, smile seemingly wider and brighter than before and a part of you regretted not coming with him

but college starts in a week, and with that came missed calls and ignored messages

at some point, neither of you just remembered to hit the other up, caught up with the stresses of your own life and before either of you knew it, 5 years have passed

he came to visit home for the first time in years, no longer the boyish noya you knew but he still had that warm aura around him

you were the first thought to come to mind the moment he step foot in town, his whole body buzzing with excitement at the mere thought of seeing you again

so of course he went straight to your house, feet taking step after memorized step and hands clutching bags of things he got from his travels

"Y/N!!!!!", he calls out as he enters your house which was answered with a harsh shushing

turning a corner he saw you in the living room, lovely as ever-- he thought, and with a baby sleeping soundly in your arms, "the baby's sleeping, yuu"

"whose...?"

you laughed at the cracking in his voice, "mine, who else's?"

man, he looked like he was about to cry

he quietly approached you, careful as to not wake the baby

"for you", he mumbled while handing you the bag of snacks and stuff

the room was filled with silence after you hummed a short thanks

he was looking at the child's face, it looked like you, he thinks

he asked when you got married, "you didn't tell me, didn't even invite your best friend to your wedding", he whined

"i didn't, i'm not married"

his eyes were wide as they looked at you

you told him about getting pregnant shortly after college graduation and getting ditched

he thought of himself selfish as he heaved a sigh of relief

"it's fine though, my parents are helping me a lot", he notes how you looked at your baby with such fond eyes and his heart swelled, he felt like crying

you chuckled at the look on his face, "hey don't look so sorry for me, can't be happier to have her"

"what's her name?"

you looked at your daughter's face and pet at her cheek with a finger, "yui"

nishinoya couldn't hold it in anymore and so he let himself cry and pulled you close

and for the nth time since the day of your college graduation he asked you again, "come with me, y/n, let's travel the world" but you have a child "i'll stay with you here until she's old enough", he said while kissing the tears that slipped down your cheeks

"then we can all go travel the world together"

he liked working at the museum, he really does

at least that's what he tries to tell himself as he led the group of preschoolers through the sendai museum

they were cute, yeah, but also very chatty

especially this one little boy with the frog hat

"what's this called?"

"it's a fossilized remain of--"

"how about this one?"

"it's--", and before he could answer, the child was already running to the other side of the exhibit

he just sighs

the tour ended and he was getting ready for his lunch break, proceeding to the cafe by the entrance as he always does

his eyes almost caught the flurry of green that passed beside him but he chose to ignore it

but of course it wasn't long after he sat down with his order when he heard a familiar bubbly voice

"mama that's the dinosaur guy!", he heard the little boy whisper loudly, "he's so tall, like a brachiosaurus!"

he couldn't supress the chuckle at the child's remark and he turned in his seat, "so you were listening, i thought you were just bouncing all around the place"

"oh sorry, did he give you a hard time?"

your voice drew his attention and he smiled at the sight of your worried face, something that surprised even him, "not really, no"

he invited you two to sit and eat with him and he listened to your son ramble all about dinosaurs and prehistoric animals

"a smart one, i like him"

your son really liked him too and asked you to take him to the museum again and see tsukishima

and so it became a habit for you to visit the museum every friday with the little boy, waiting for the tall blonde to get off work so you three could grab something to eat

and every time he sees you in the little cafe by the entrancne with your son, tsukishima couldn't help but smile a little and pat at his chest to calm the subtle fluttering as he push the door open

it was a weird feeling he never knew would come so naturally at the mere sight of you two

he bought your son picture books and and figurines and copies of the "walking with dinosaurs" documentary

"we should watch it this weekend..." his eyebrows shot up for a moment at your meek suggestion

of course the little boy was elated, excited to have him over at your house "yes! let's go now! i wanna watch it with tsukki now!!!"

tsukishima returned his gaze on you, "if it's not too much trouble then i'd love to go now"

and so the rest of the friday night was spent on your couch with all the lights turned off and a narration of al the allosaurus' life

you looked over at the other side of the couch to see your son laying on tsukishima, eyes fluttering shut with the man passed out and lightly snoring

he must've been tired

you draped a blanket over the two of them and waited for sleep to visit you too and it soon did

morning came and you woke up to the smell of coffee

"i borrowed your coffee maker, i hope you don't mind", his voice was still low, trying not to wake the little boy

"yeah, sorry i didn't wake you up last night... you looked tired"

he chuckled as you walked over to the kitchen to take out two mugs and prepared some toast, "i don't mind, it was the best sleep i've gotten in a while. i hope it wasn't too much of a bother for you though"

you leaned on the kitchen counter as you took in his appearance; hair ruffled and eyes puffy with sleep, "i don't mind it one bit"

he huffed a laugh and looked over to the sofa where your son still laid

"he likes you a lot"

"so it seems, i hope you do too", his face was smug but you didn't miss the red that tinted his cheeks when you told him "of course i do, in fact i was thinking maybe we should do this more often"

his smirk grew, "just say you want to wake up everyday to the sight of me and leave it at that"

you rolled your eyes at his comment but smiled nonetheless, "oh shut up"

he had just come back from the nekoma volleyball team reunion, head lightly buzzing from the few bottles of alcohol kuroo forced down his throat

making his way through the carpeted hotel hall, he could barely make out the sound of little feet hurriedly padding on the floor and quiet sniffles

taking out the keycard to his room with the blissful thoughts of finally sinking into the soft mattress was interrupted by a soft bump on his thigh, a muffled thud and a small "ow..."

it took a few moments before the sight of the little boy on the hotel floor registered properly in his brain

it was well past 2 am... why the hell is there a child running around the halls

"uh... hi?"

big bright eyes looked up at him and he can't help but sigh at the sniffles increasingly growing louder

"where's your mama, little guy?", yaku crouched to the little boy's level, careful to keep his balance as the booze and exhaustion was catching up to him

however, at the mention of his mother, the little boy's eye filled up with more tears and was ready to burst anytime, "mama..."

"oh no no no no"

yaku's too tired for this

so with a sigh and a groan, he took the boy in his arms and entered his room

"let's look for her in the morning, okay? i think i still have some cookies in my room, would like some?"

the little boy nods his head, earning a relieved sigh from yaku

the rest of the night was spent with cartoons playing on the large hotel room tv, yaku leaning against the headboard with the little boy snoozing away while being tucked in his arm, cookie on his hand and crumbs all around

morning came and panic surged through your body the moment you realized your 3 year-old son was nowhere inside your hotel room

your hurried to the security desk to report and hopefully make an announcement, head reeling and aching with the sudden rush of adrenaline first thing in the morning

with your head in your hands, you let out a groan while trying not to cry at all the possibilites flashing through your mind

your wallowing was cut short with an "excuse me, i found this child last night"

turning your head back to the security desk, you see a man in his pajamas and slippers, hair ruffled from sleep and a sleepy little boy laying on his shoulder

"oh my god"

the whole conlict ended when you came up to them and introduced yourself, the little boy quickly recognizing your voice and whipped his head over to you, "mama!"

your son reached out for you and yaku couldn't help but notice how pretty your glossy eyes were despite how disheveled you looked

"mama, yakkun gave me cookies and we watched cartoons aaaaall night!"

yaku's eyes widened at the little boy's words and let out a nervous chuckle, "you make me sound so suspicious"

he turned to you and explained how your son bumped into him at 2 am and he was just too tired to bring him down to the security desk

"my tired tipsy brain thought it was a better idea to just let him sleep in my room and look for mama in the morning", he ended with the tips of his ears tinged red

you laughed at his nervousness, "well we can talk more about it over breakfast, what do you say yakkun? my treat"

with the way you were smiling at him, how could he even refuse?

the rest of the morning was spent with coffee and waffles, juice and fruits and chatter

he learned you and your son were in town for a few days, "i wanted to go see the fishies in the aquarium!", the little boy quips

with the new volleyball season just around the corner, yaku knew he'd have practices but he offered to tour you two around tokyo

he wanted to see you two again

briefly taking care of the toddler last night and having breakfast with you, he realized, were very much a welcomed change of pace in his hectic pro volleyball life

"are you my dad? mama told me daddy was working in tokyo" he remembered your son quietly mumbling last night, "i haven't seen him though, not ever"

the rest of your stay in tokyo was spent hanging out with yaku, your son growing more and more attached to him and slept over at his room every night

as promised, he took you and your son on a tokyo tour and even brought you to practice, introducing you to the national team and teaching your child receives

of course your trip eventually reached its end, promises of meeting again drowned in the little boy's tears as he tried to reach out to yaku

"we'll meet again, little guy", he says while ruffling the boy's hair, "i'll even go visit you and we'll play lots, okay?

of course he made a point of contacting you frequently, often video chatting during meal times and bedtime and a few more hours after, relishing in the time he could spend talking alone with you

"i can't wait to see you two again", he always says right after "good night"

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dakotacrisis · 3 years

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Topsy Turvy (3)

By popular demand and my current Ladrien fixation I bring to you part 3 of this fluff fest. Enjoy!

---

Plagg was this close to throwing an extra large wheel of cheese at Adrien’s head. After Ladybug left last night he had been skipping around his room with the biggest, dorkiest grin imaginable. Every once in a while he would stop to contemplate how hurt his friend Marinette would be about this before he perked up again. Now he was standing in a pile of clothes trying to pick out an outfit for the movies tonight.

"What about this?" Adrien held up a black button up. "It's nice but understated and it would match Ladybug’s costume. Or is it weird to coordinate? Or maybe too fancy for a movie date? I have a black v-neck that may be better. What do you think?"

"It all looks the same to me," Plagg answered, not bothering to look up from the comic book he was reading.

"Plagg! Come on! Just give me an opinion. This is a big deal for me!"

Plagg grinned, a wicked thought entering his brain. "Oh I just don't know, Adrien. I don't wear clothes so I don't have the best source of judgement. Why don't you ask the designer friend of yours? I'm sure she would love to help you."

"That's actually a great idea--hey, wait a second--Plagg!" Adrien torn the comic out from under him like a tablecloth, "I can't ask Marinette for help regarding my date with Ladybug! Are you mad? Did you forget that she's the one that I need to reject after this?"

"Oh? Is she?" Plagg feigned ignorance. This was just too good to pass up. If only this poor little kitten of his knew the truth. He was rejecting the same girl he was going on a date with. He had to mess with him a little.

"Yes, Plagg, I have gone over this at length already." Adrien sighed, with a shake of his head, "Just work with me here and say button up or v-neck."

"Nude,"

Adrien tossed the comic back down. "You’re not funny."

"Really? I'm pretty sure I'm hilarious. You are just too young to appreciate my humor."

"Yeah, sure, that's the problem." Adrien looked between the two shirts he had before tossing the one aside. "V-neck. Definitely the v-neck."

He cradled the shirt close to him and Plagg had a moment of sincerity. Adrien was really happy about this date. He had never seen him so excited before. For decades Plagg had watched humans fall in love over and over. He could never really understand it since kwamis were incapable of the romantic love humans felt but he knew what familial love felt like. He knew that he loved Adrien as his chosen. If romantic love was anything like that then he wouldn't spoil the experience for Adrien anymore today. Tease him about any funny slip ups he may experience later, yes. But for today he would let the boy be. He deserved it.

---

"You really didn't have to see me off for my date, Alya." Marinette said, "I'm fine."

"You know I had to come. It's your first date with Adrien. No way was I gonna miss this." Alya kicked her feet excitedly, "I wanna hear all about it when you get back."

"What? Are you just gonna hang out here until I get home? Are you that interested in how my date goes that you’re going to wait up for me?"

"Duh, was that not obvious?"

"Well then," Marinette transformed, "how do I look?"

"You look like Ladybug."

"Right…" Ladybug looked at herself in the mirror before pulling the ribbons out of her hair to let it loose. "There, a little more casual. Right?"

"Sure, girl, a superhero wearing her hair down. Casual to the max." Alya rolled her eyes. "Now get going or you'll be late."

"Okay, see you later." She jumped through the trapdoor of her balcony and was off. Her heart was thundering loud in her chest the closer she got to the theater. She stopped at the building across from it and searched the faces heading inside. Then like a beacon under the neon lights she saw him. Adrien.

Okay. Be cool. Don't do anything stupid.

She fixed her hair and jumped off the building. She landed in her best hero pose across the street from him. When she looked up he was staring at her in awe.

Nailed it!

She then promptly tripped on the curb crossing the street.

"Watch it!" Adrien caught her by the arms before she could collide with the concrete, "You okay?"

"Yeah! Thanks! I've taken much worse tumbles than that." she laughed it off. "Guess you saved me this time."

"Uh yeah, I guess," Adrien fidgeted with his ring, "You look really nice. You're wearing your hair differently."

"Heroes gotta let their hair down sometimes, huh?" she chuckled to herself. "Consider it my unofficial off-duty look. Not that I'm ever really off-duty but you get what I mean."

"I get what you mean." They stood for a moment just staring at one another in mutual lovestruck awe before either of them remembered they were here for a date.

“Should we head in?” Adrien pointed back to the theater.

“Right, yes, we should do that.” they wandered inside and immediately gazes were drawn as they made their way to purchase their tickets. Despite her arguing that she could buy her own ticket Adrien insisted on getting it for her. She played truce and bought the snacks instead.

They followed the crowd into the theater. A few people stopped Ladybug to get some pictures or an autograph. Adrien patiently waited with the snacks as he scanned the room for good seats. It was surprisingly packed for such a late showing. “Uh Ladybug,” Adrien called for her attention, “I’m gonna go save us some seats so you come by whenever you’re done.”

“I’ll be right there. Thanks.” she gave him a thumbs up before going back to her fans. She really didn’t mind when fans came up to her, she was always honored, but she was here for a date. It didn’t feel right to let him go off on his own so she could take pictures.

The lights started to go down and she used that as her excuse to take her seat. She edged past the other theater goers and sat down in the chair next to Adrien. “Sorry about all that,” she whispered as the movie started, “You have my attention for the rest of the night. Promise.”

“Don’t worry. I totally get it. People stop me when I’m out with friends from time to time.” Adrien assured her. “I’m just glad to be here with you at all.”

Marinette blushed red hot and she found herself thankful for the dark theater. “I’m happy to be here with you too.”

The movie started in ernest and they drew their attention to it. Every once in a while she would catch him watching her instead of the movie or he would spot her staring at him. They’d quickly look away and smile, trying to keep their attention on what was happening on the screen. At one point she went to put her arm on the arm rest between them and nearly jumped out of her seat when she fully laid her hand overtop Adrien’s without noticing.

“Sorry,” Adrien blurted out but was quickly shushed by the audience, “sorry,” he whispered in a quieter voice, “you can have it.”

“No, no, you can have it--I just--”

“No. Really, I’ve been hogging it all night. You take it.”

“I don’t need it. Please, just take it--”

“One of you had better take it and shut up already.” someone behind them hissed.

“Sorry,” Ladybug squeaked. She moved to put her arm back and bumped into Adrien who was doing the same thing. They giggled for a moment. Then Adrien rested his arm on it with his palm facing up.

His eyes met hers with a shy, expectant smile. Oh! She bit her lip and laid her arm on top of his and interlaced their fingers together. Tonight was the best night ever just for this!

They stayed holding hands for the rest of the movie and when they got up to leave they were still interlocked. Neither wanted to let the connection break just yet. They walked out of the theater and into the cool night air.

“This was a lot of fun.” Ladybug said, “I’m glad you agreed to come out with me.”

“I’m still surprised you asked me out in the first place.” Adrien said, his gaze traveled down to their interlaced hands, “This was really nice.”

“Do you have a ride home?” Ladybug asked.

“No chauffeur tonight,” Adrien looked down the street then back at her, his voice dropping low to a whisper, “Between you and me, I’m not supposed to be out here.”

“How rebellious!” Ladybug scoffed, with a mock scandalized face, “Did you sneak out to come here tonight? I don’t know, Adrien. That’s top tier felon behaviour. I may have to turn you in.”

“Oh please, Ladybug, have mercy.” he pleaded with the same level of theatrics, “I meant no harm! Don’t send me to the slammer!”

“Oh alright,” Ladybug giggled, “I can’t throw a pretty face like yours in jail. You wouldn’t last ten minutes with all those other big bads. All those jaywalkers and litterbugs, they’d tear you apart.”

“You underestimate me, I could have control of the yard in five.”

“I bet you could.” she shook her head. “So since you don’t have a ride home did you need a lift? I can get you back lickety split.”

“How about instead of a lift you give me an escort.” Adrien asked, his big green puppy dog eyes blinking down at her, “As fun as the movie was I didn’t really get to talk to you which is the one thing I wanted to do most tonight.”

“How can I say no to that?” she squeezed his hand tighter, “I want to get to know you better too.”

They left the theater on foot back towards Adrien’s house. Neither had anywhere to be and no rush to end their date just yet so they kept the pace slow and let themselves take the long way around.

“Let me start simple,” Adrien said, “What is your favorite color?”

“Pink. But not like a hot neon pink, more of a soft sunset pink. What about you?”

“Blue. It’s just so relaxing to look at in almost all its forms. I think my favorite shade would have to be a soft sky blue though.”

“That’s nice. Alright, my question.” Ladybug pondered it for a moment, “What is your most treasured memory?”

“Wow. Starting off strong huh? I feel kinda ridiculous with my color question.”

“Don’t be. Sorry. I should have said something a little simpler, shouldn’t I?”

“No. I like your question. I just need to think about it. Gimme a second.” Adrien said as he started to think. He was really thinking this through. “I think my most treasured memory would be Christmas Eve when I was six.”

“Not Christmas morning?”

“The morning was great but I’ll never forget the night prior.” Adrien’s eyes took on a far away look, “It was as basic as Christmas Eve’s go. I wanted to stay up so I could meet Santa. My parents said that he wouldn’t come if I stayed up though and sent me off to bed. It was around midnight and I heard a noise coming from downstairs. I assumed it was Santa so I swung out of bed and raced out of my room to catch him before he could leave.

“I got down there and I found presents under the tree but no Santa. There was a light on in the kitchen and I figured he must be getting his milk and cookies. I go up to the door and push it open. There’s no Santa in the kitchen but there are my parents. My mom is sitting on the island munching on a gingerbread cookie, father is looking in the fridge, there’s quiet Christmas music playing on the radio next to them.

“My father closes the fridge and holds up a piece of mistletoe he must have hidden in there. Mom laughs and when he went in to kiss her she held up the gingerbread man so he kissed that instead. Father looked grumpy and bit the head off. Mom gasped and was all like, “I cannot believe you decapitated Mister Gingy! He had three kids you monster!” which made me laugh. Of course now they know I’m there and father picks me up and tells me I should be in bed and all that stuff. I wasn’t listening and instead I grabbed the mistletoe and held it up to mom. I meant it so my parents could kiss but instead they both kissed my cheeks instead. We stayed up for at least another hour eating cookies and drinking warm milk and hot coco before I fell asleep and they put me back to bed.”

“That is so cute!” Ladybug gushed, “I can see it all in my head. Squishy faced kiddie Adrien sneaking out of bed and eating cookies with his parents. That’s a really sweet memory.”

“I’ll never forget it.” Adrien sighed. For a moment he looked so sad and Marinette wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have asked him. The memory of his mom probably hurt to think about. “What about you? What’s your most treasured memory?”

Now that was a tough one. She couldn’t really go into childhood stories since it would give away too much as to her identity. It was then she thought of the perfect story. “There is one memory I hold really close to my heart.” she said.

“I was on patrol one evening by myself. It was raining but I didn’t want to go home cause I was going through some stuff emotionally and I didn’t want to be cooped up. So I’m running and running and I almost slip off the roof. I realize I should take a break so I huddle under this awning of this closed cafe to catch my breath and see if the rain lets up. I’m waiting for maybe five minutes and because I’m not moving my emotions from before I starting to catch up to me. I’m on the verge of breaking down when out of nowhere Chat Noir lands on the sidewalk in front of me. I say land but he more or less faceplanted. He has a box covered in a plastic bag to keep it dry that he’s holding off the ground. He pulls himself up like he didn’t just have an intimate meeting with the concrete and walks over to me like it is the most casual thing in the world. Now mind you, I was not expecting to see him. I didn’t tell him I was coming out here nor did he have any idea where I was but he found me nonetheless.

“He huddles under the awning with me and takes the plastic bag off the box. I realize at this point it is a wrapped present. I ask him what this is supposed to be for and he tells me that since we don’t know when each other’s birthdays are he was going to pick a random day to give me a birthday present. And apparently this rainy evening was that day. I tried telling he didn’t need to but he insisted so I take the present and unwrap it. When I tell you, this idiot actually gifted me a black cat onesie with a cat ear hood and little toe beans on the feet. I started laughing and asked if he had a matching ladybug onesie and he told me he did. I start laughing harder and I can tell he thinks that I’m laughing at him so I quickly assure him I’m not. I tell him I really love the gift and I give him a hug. To him he probably thinks that he just gave me a nice present but in reality he pulled me back from a really sad place without even knowing it.

“Of course the second I got home I put the onesie on and started thinking of a birthday present I could get for him. I wanted it to be perfect as a sort of thank you for cheering me up when I was in a really bad mood. I never told him just how much that one little present, that one encounter, helped me but it did. I like to think about it whenever I get in a bad mood. Remembering his mop of drenched hair and that big expectant smile never fails to cheer me up.”

When she looked back at Adrien he looked close to tears. “Oh hey, are you okay? Did I say something? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he wiped at his eyes with his free hand, “It’s just, your friendship with him is great. I think that the next time you see him you should tell him how much that meant to you. I’m sure it would make him really happy.”

“I think I will,”

They got to Adrien’s house and they both stood frozen on the sidewalk. “Guess it’s time to say goodbye now.”

“Guess so,” Adrien stared up at the tall stone walls. “All good thinks must come to an end.”

“There are always more good times to come though.” Ladybug said, “Speaking of which, would you be interested in going on a second date sometime?”

“I would love to.” Adrien answered with a bright smile. “How do I get a hold of you?”

“I’ll come to you.” she let go of his hand to wrap around his waist. With a flick of her wrist she sent her yo-yo up and pulled them off the ground. They swung into his room and she deposited him back down safely. “Goodnight, Adrien. I had a wonderful time and I’ll be by to see you again soon.”

“Goodbye Ladybug. Tonight was...it was perfect.” He leaned in closer or maybe it was Marinette that leaned in but one of them leaned in. Then just as quickly they withdrew. Arms hugged close to their sides.

“I should get going,” Ladybug stumbled back towards the window. She poised to throw her yo-yo but she made the mistake of taking one final look back at Adrien. He was watching her with such a soft and loving expression. She couldn’t just end it like this.

She rushed back to him and kissed his cheek. “See you later, bye!” she fully vaulted herself out the window the next instant and booked it as fast as she could back home. She dropped down onto her balcony. Her heart was beating fast and her face ached from how hard she was smiling.

---

(Part 1) (Previous) (Probably another part cause I know no self control and you people enable me)

#long post #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #plagg #alya cesaire #ladrien #topsy turvy #writing

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idnek83 · 3 years

Text

By Your Side - Chapter 1/3

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham

Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, No Game Spoilers, Coming Out, Other Tags To Be Added

Summary: The epilogue of Aid, in which Soda finally comes out to those around him, and accomplishes a goal he's had ever since that fateful day in the beach house.

Chapter: 1, 2

Read on Ao3

This Chapter: Soda remembers some important moments with his friends while enjoying a morning with the love of his life.

_____________________

Soda woke to the faint sound of a hamster wheel and squinted at the bright sunlight filtering through the window. He groaned and stretched out his arms while rolling onto his back to take in the beautiful sight behind him. A soft smile found its way to his lips.

Gundham was sleeping soundly, hair messy and face peaceful as he breathed deeply.

Soda couldn’t resist, he rolled to his side and pulled his boyfriend to his chest, just because he could. Gundham grunted, but shifted closer in his sleep. Soda pressed his face into his hair and smiled.

He would never get tired of waking up like this.

It had been eight months since the end of their beach vacation, and so much had changed. It had been a little stressful at times, but, despite that, Soda could definitely say he’d never been happier.

He felt more content and more loved than he ever had before, and he felt free now to just be himself.

–

Coming out to their friends had been… weird. It wasn’t some big dramatic event the way Soda had pictured it in his head, hell, it wasn’t even an event, more of a series several quick conversations and supportive gestures spread out over a couple weeks.

Hajime was the first to know, obviously, and Nagito had been included in that conversation because it just made sense.

It happened the day after Soda had finally stopped being such a dumbass and actually managed to tell Gundham how he felt. Hajime had raised an eyebrow at him over breakfast, glancing meaningfully between him and Gundham, and Soda responded by asking if he and Nagito wanted to hang out in his cabin later. Nagito had made a remark about how rare it was for Soda to want to spend time with him, but Hajime had cut him off before he could ask for a reason and agreed for the both of them.

Gundham said nothing, but placed a hand on Soda’s knee below the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Later, once the four of them had entered Soda’s cabin, Hajime took Nagito’s hand in his, confirming what Soda had already known. Despite knowing no one in the room would have a problem with it, Soda had still felt embarrassed when he reached out to take Gundham’s hand in his own.

There had been a few moments of silence, before Nagito broke it.

“Ah, so that was what we heard yesterday, Hajime. You’re so perceptive.”

Soda’s face drained of color and Gundham blushed deeply.

“W-what do you-” He looked at Hajime, who was covering his mouth and trying not to laugh. “You heard?”

“Unfortunately.” Hajime tried to look upset, but his laughter won out, and pretty soon he was grinning broadly at Soda. “Happy for you, dude, even if I am gonna need so much therapy to get the sounds of your boning out of my head.”

“Fuck you, man.”

“I don’t think Gundham would appreciate that.”

After the laughter died down, they had spent a good part of the morning just hanging out in Soda’s cabin. Sure, the experience had been mortifying, but not for any of the reasons Soda had previously worried it might be.

No shouting, no violence, and no lost friendships.

Once his embarrassment passed, he just felt happy and relieved. He relaxed into Gundham’s side and made as many jokes at Hajime’s expense as he could while his soul friend did the same to him.

It had been so easy. It had felt so good.

Soda and Gundham were careful to be a little quieter at night for the rest of the trip.

–

Gundham began to shift in his arms, burying his head into Soda’s chest in an attempt to convince his body to remain asleep.

Soda held him a little tighter and pressed a kiss to his brow, not quite ready to start their morning either.

–

Sonia was the only other person they had told before the trip ended.

It hadn’t been on purpose, they had agreed to wait until they were home to tell the rest of their friends to avoid creating unnecessary tension on their vacation.

Or maybe Soda just wasn’t ready to be out yet, and Gundham had just gone along with that story so Soda wouldn’t feel pressured.

Either way.

It was a few days after telling Hajime and Nagito, and they had been having tea with Sonia out on the patio of the hotel’s restaurant. Gundham had suggested the three of them start spending time together as a way for Soda and Sonia to build a better relationship, and afternoon tea had quickly become a regular thing for the three of them.

Soda and Sonia really had been getting along better. They only really hung out together in groups, but most of the weird tension between them had been lifted.

That day, the topic had somehow shifted to space, and Soda couldn’t help but mention his dream of building a rocket ship. He was surprised when Sonia had been interested, and elated when she had started prodding him for more information. Before he knew it, he was rambling away about all his different ideas and dreams for the rocket he hoped he could one day build, and was hardly even paying any attention to Sonia and Gundham anymore.

Sonia, however, was paying attention. She had seen the way Gundham’s face softened as he watched Soda speak so openly about his dreams, noticed the way he shifted and slid a little closer to Soda when he ‘secretly’ pressed their knees together below the table. Noticed the way his eyes had drifted to Soda’s lips as he spoke.

She apparently hadn’t planned on saying anything.

But then Soda stopped talking, and Gundham, lost in how much he loved to see Soda happy and excited, had leaned in and gently kissed him. Soda kissed back, just for a second, before they both remembered Sonia was right there. They froze and turned to Sonia, who had gracefully hidden her surprise by sipping her tea and averting her eyes.

She had looked down at her cup for a moment before looking back up to them and smiling.

“I did not realize you two had become a couple.” Her smile widened, and both of the boys relaxed a little. “Congratulations are in order! We should organize a party to officialise your courtship!”

“Ah, Miss Sonia, that’s kinda…” Soda had panicked a little, he really hadn’t been ready for everyone to know yet.

Gundham had just gently placed a hand over one of Soda’s own and smiled at him.

“That is a most gracious thought, dark queen, but my consort and I are trying to be… discreet about our new bond.”

“Oh! I apologize! If that is the case, then I understand. I will be most inconspicuous about this matter, no one will suspect a thing!”

Soda was glad Sonia understood, but he was a little worried about her ability to keep things “inconspicuous”…

To his surprise, though, she had no trouble acting as if she didn’t know they were dating around their other friends, staying true to her word and never giving anyone any reason to suspect they were a couple.

She even covered for them when they had not so subtly shown up late for breakfast one morning, clothes rumpled and faces a little flushed, by asking if they “had managed to recapture the dark beast they had been chasing” before anyone could get any less innocent ideas.

Soda was once again surprised by how easy coming out had been, and how well it had gone.

Once again relieved that he didn’t have to choose between being himself and being happy.

–

Gundham heaved a sigh against Soda’s chest and groggily drew himself back. Soda leaned in to kiss him.

“Mmm. Good morning, my consort.”

Soda smiled as he moved back to look at his sleepy boyfriend.

“Morning babe.”

They kissed again, only to be interrupted as one of the Devas squeaked loudly, apparently realizing they were both awake and thus demanding to be fed. Soda groaned in protest as Gundham slowly got out of bed to feed his hamsters.

–

Fuyuhiko had been the next to know they were dating, as well as the last of their classmates that Soda had to tell directly.

Soda and Fuyuhiko had been eating lunch together at a cafe, just the two of them, when Gundham texted him. He had sent a photo of himself with the puppies his mother’s dog had given birth to that weekend, and Soda couldn’t help but smile goofily at it.

“The fuck you smiling at?”

Soda just smiled wider and turned his phone to show Fuyuhiko the picture.

Fuyuhiko glanced at it and rolled his eyes. He had been getting pretty sick of watching Soda fawn over Gundham when he thought no one was looking.

“So when’re you gonna stop being such a pussy and ask him out?”

Fuyuhiko smirked and watched as Soda blushed and stuttered, feeling smug until-

“Um… like a couple weeks ago?”

There was a long silence.

“The fuck?”

Fuyuhiko had looked so pissed that Soda had actually considered running.

“And what? You just weren’t gonna fuckin’ tell me?”

“I, uh-”

“Thought you could just keep that shit a secret forever?”

“N-no, I just, um…”

“You what?”

“I was… look dude, I was just kinda scared to tell you, alright?”

Fuyuhiko had sat back in his chair after that, still looking pissed as hell, but there was something else in his expression as well. Eventually he sighed.

“You were… scared? Did you think I was gonna beat you up or some shit?”

“I mean-”

“Fuck you man. Thought we were close, you should know I’d never fucking hurt someone over dumb shit like that…”

Soda had been surprised by how upset Fuyuhiko had sounded. He really had been worried Fuyuhiko would hit him, not because he actually thought he was the kind of guy to get violent over who someone dates, but because his stupid brain wouldn’t let him not worry.

They had a long conversation after that. Soda did his best to explain to Fuyuhiko how his shitty brain worked and that he didn’t actually think he was a bad guy, while Fuyuhiko did his best to pretend like he wasn’t hurt by the fact Soda had been so hesitant to tell him about him and Gundham. By the end of it they were both feeling a little more awkward and a lot more vulnerable than they were used to around each other, but looking back, Soda was glad it had all gone the way it did. It had strengthened their friendship in the long run.

They ended up parting ways once they finished eating, but not before Fuyuhiko ad asked Soda if he wanted to hang out later that night. Soda had told him he couldn’t because he was going to help Gundham with the puppies, and Fuyuhiko had just rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fucking helping him all right. Just make sure you put the dogs in another room, they don’t need to see that shit.” He smirked at Soda’s blushing face and turned to leave with a wave.

Despite the embarrassment, Soda had been relieved that Fuyuhiko was back to being his snarky self. Maybe it hadn’t been the smoothest of way to come out, but overall, it had still gone pretty well.

Later that night, Soda was sure to lock the puppies out of Gundham’s room, just for Fuyuhiko.

–

Soda watched as Gundham fed the Devas, making sure to give them all a few gentle pets as he did, mumbling away about keeping up their power levels and checking them for any signs of “evil spirits”. As Soda watched, he couldn’t help but let his gaze wander lower.

Gundham rarely wore anything to bed, especially when Soda was over, so his ass was on full display for Soda’s wandering eyes. He chuckled sleepily to himself when he found the still healing bite mark on one of Gundham’s cheeks.

Maybe not the best decision he had ever made, but Gundham had seemed into it, so no harm no foul, right?

When he finally stopped staring at Gundham’s ass and let his eyes wander back up, he noticed he’d been caught. Gundham smiled coyly at him.

“Were you not satisfied by last nights activities, dearest paramour?” Gundham carefully closed the Devas’ cage before turning and slowly climbing back onto the bed. Soda took his time responding, letting his eyes travel up and down the front of Gundham’s body as he straddled his lap.

“Hmm. I’d say it’s less ‘not satisfied’ and more ‘looking for a repeat.’” He smiled as he slowly sat up and brought his hands to Gundham’s hips, before leaning in to kiss him.

It was so easy now. So easy to just let himself be with Gundham, to kiss him whenever he felt like it, to tell him how he felt, tell him what he wanted.

He wished he hadn’t been such a coward on their vacation, wished he had just confessed right away and spared them both a lot of pain.

Wished he had known how easy it could be, how right it would feel.

After Soda told Fuyuhiko about their relationship, they had agreed to stop trying to hide it from their friends. It was slow going at first though, as neither of them were entirely comfortable with public displays of affection.

Soda was pretty sure Chiaki had been the first to notice. They were all at Ibuki’s house drinking, and Soda had been feeling a little jealous while watching Hajime and Nagito cuddle on the couch. He had grabbed Gundham’s hand and tried to act casual about it. If they had been sober, everyone in the room likely would have noticed they way both his and Gundham’s faces suddenly flushed, but, as it was, only Chiaki seemed to notice.

She had looked up from the game she was playing at just the right moment and happened to glance at their intertwined fingers. She had just looked up at Soda’s face, smiled, and returning to her game.

That had been it.

When Chiaki had found Soda looking for snacks in the kitchen later and they started chatting, she referred to Gundham as his boyfriend without even hesitating. Soda had to wonder if maybe Hajime had accidentally told her they were dating before hand. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around how well things were going.

He wasn’t really sure if anyone else had noticed that night.

Ibuki had definitely figured it out the next morning when she found them cuddled up half naked in her guest room, though. Soda’s hungover brain had processed the volume of her voice before the words, and he had just tried to muffle the sound by burying his face into Gundham’s chest.

Then a second later he realized she was yelling “You two better not have fucked in Ibuki’s guest bed!” loud enough for anyone else in the house to hear.

He jumped out of bed and managed to get her to quiet down by assuring her they didn’t fuck.

He didn’t mention that it was only because neither of them had thought to bring lube, or that they had absolutely blown each other in her guest bed, but really, she didn’t need the details, and they still technically didn’t fuck, so it was fine, right?

She had been happy enough with his answer and left the room, closing the door behind her. A few seconds later he got a text from Teruteru asking who exactly he had fucked in Ibuki’s guest bed. He was too tired to deal with him at that exact moment, so he just responded with a hamster emoji before climbing back into bed and snuggling up to a half awake Gundham.

They slept off their hangovers for a few more hours, and when Soda woke up he had a phone filled with texts from Teruteru. In the first message he congratulated Soda and wished him happiness in his relationship. It was actually pretty heartfelt and sappy, but the effect was immediately ruined by the next twelve messages where he asked for details on exactly what they had gotten up to the previous night, then made several animal-based sex jokes.

He had also received a single thumbs-up emoji from Byakuya. Somehow it was equally mortifying.

Soda was embarrassed to learn a few of their other friends had stayed the night as well, and almost certainly heard Ibuki yelling, but no one else said anything.

Hiyoko had definitely tried to say something when she caught Soda and Gundham leaving the guest room together, but Mahiru had been there to shush her before she could get out more than a teasing “Oh?”

Soda hoped the look on his face had told Mahiru exactly how grateful he was to her.

After that, he wasn’t really sure who told who, but it seemed like all their friends were aware they were dating.

And not a single one had and issue with it.

Soda couldn’t believe it. He spent so long worrying about how other people would react, and then they just… accepted it, accepted him, without so much as a disapproving look.

He might have cried about it one night after he realized it, but that wasn’t something he was ever going to admit to.

Coming out had been so easy, so freeing.

If only it had stayed that easy.

He looked down at Gundham as they both caught their breaths. He seemed so content laying on Soda’s chest that he almost didn’t want to move him, but he was heavy and Soda’s legs were falling asleep. Soda carefully rolled onto his side as Gundham let out a sigh.

He was surprise when Gundham just readjusted and cuddled closer instead of getting up. He was usually very strict about waking up early to take care of all his other animals.

Soda wasn’t about to complain though. He loved the mornings where Gundham decided to spend just a little more time in bed, and he was going to cherish it.

He pressed a kiss to Gundham’s slightly sweaty forehead.

He was going to cherish every second they had together.

Next Chapter

#Soudam #Soda Kazuichi #Kazuichi Soda #Gundham Tanaka #Soda/Gundham #danganronpa #danganronpa 2 #fic #My writing #Fic Aid #Happy 6 months of Aid y'all

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pterodactylterrace · 3 years

Text

Guys Like You Chapter 7

Title: Guys Like You

Chapter: 7

Chapter Summary: Just an ordinary Sunday

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Smut. Alcohol consumption.

{Prologue} {Chapter 1} {Chapter 2} {Chapter 3} {Chapter 4} {Chapter 5} {Chapter 6}

Just an ordinary Sunday. An ordinary Sunday with nothing special about it what so ever. Just your average, everyday, run of the mill Sunday.

Oh, except for that 'date' Faye had been freaking out about for days now. She was acting like a teenager again, and worst still, she knew she was. Should she do something special with her hair? Should she bother with makeup? What if she ended up getting a surprise pimple? Most importantly, what was she supposed to wear? Would it be weird to just show up in regular clothes, or would it be weirder to show up over dressed? Sure, she could actually ask him like a reasonable adult, but she refused to admit ignorance of what dating looked like anymore, so here she was, an hour before she was supposed to leave, staring at her closet in absolute terror and confusion.

There was one last resource she hadn't tapped into just yet. Her trump card. Possibly her last line of defense to keep from looking like an idiot. Or more like an idiot, depending on how you look at the situation.

"Briar!"

"Mommy, why you nakie?" Briar giggled as she came toddling into the room at top speed, wrapping her arms around her mother's leg.

"I'm not nakie, I have my underwear on." Faye pointed out, rolling her eyes. This child of hers. "Do you wanna pick out what Mommy wears when we go see Henry?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Briar gasped, hurrying over to her mother's closet and surveying the items hung up. "This one's pretty!" Briar gasped, grabbing the skirt of one of the dresses hung up. All in all, not a bad pick. Casual enough to not look like she was trying too hard, nice enough that she didn't look like a slob. Briar to the rescue, once again. Now the only problem was getting it on. This particular dress was backless with a litany of different ties crossing each other to make it fit just right. She hadn't worn this dress since she'd moved across the ocean. Now she didn't have her trusty siblings to help her get it on right, and Briar didn't know how to tie anything.

It took some doing, a lot of wiggling, and a bit of compromise as far as fit went, but she did eventually get it on. She tossed a denim jacket on to keep her back somewhat warm, deciding to quit while she was ahead and leave before she continued fussing with her appearance even more. She had her daughter, dressed in a little tulle dress with her hair up in pigtails. As far as Faye was concerned, she had everything she needed.

Henry greeted her at the door with a brilliant smile, a button up that was crying for mercy and the smell of something delicious wafting from the kitchen.

"Kal!" Briar squealed, rushing past Henry to hug the fluffy dog.

"It's great to finally have you over." Henry greeted, pulling Faye in for a hug as soon as she crossed the threshold.

"Thank you for inviting us." Faye responded, stealthily breathing him in as she returned his affectionate gesture. Why did this man have to smell so good?

"Dinner should be done soon."

"It smells great. I didn't know you could cook."

"Well I didn't expect you to cook anything. Not after that baking disaster." Henry teased, raising a brow at her.

"Hey now, cooking and baking are two different things. Baking is a science. Cooking is an art."

"Is that just a nice way of saying you can't follow directions?"

"How very rude of you, sir. Throwing my inability to follow directions at me."

"May I take your jacket? Or are the directions for removing it too complicated?"

"So very mean." Faye grumbled, letting her jacket slide off her shoulders and passing it off.

"Oh, now that's a doozy." Henry murmured to himself, tilting his head and gently skimming his fingers over the artwork covering her back.

"That's my big one." Faye chuckled, turning more to let him get a better look.

"I'm looking forward to uncovering more." Henry whispered in her ear, gently squeezing her shoulders and sliding past her to hang her jacket up. That fucking tease.

Faye scooped Briar up and followed her nose to the kitchen, snooping around to see what was cooking. A few different pots and pans were on the stove, and something was cooking away in the oven. She curiously cracked the oven door open and looked in, groaning softly at the smell of roasting meat. Faye jumped when she felt a hand on her hip, the oven door snapping shut as she turned to see Henry's amused face looking down at her.

"Are you ladies having fun?"

"Brockey?" Briar asked hopefully, reaching over for Henry to take her.

"I didn't forget your favorite." Henry chuckled, taking the toddler in one arm and reaching for the chopped vegetable on the nearby cutting board with the other. "Now I don't have princess plates, but the table is all set if you two would like to have a seat." He instructed, passing the placated toddler back to her mother.

Faye seated her daughter first, shaking her head when she saw three wine glasses, two already filled with wine, one holding what appeared to be chocolate milk.

"I take it the milk is for Briar?"

"If she won't drink it, I will." Henry shrugged, shooting Faye a cheeky grin over his shoulder.

Faye seated herself next to her daughter, smoothing her dress beneath herself and trying not to fidget. Just because she was nervous, didn't mean she had to act nervous, right? Maybe a few sips of wine would help settle her nerves.

Three glasses of wine and one amazing meal later, Faye found herself sitting on Henry's couch, My Little Pony playing in the background to keep the half asleep toddler entertained while his fingers drew light patterns along her shoulders and arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, reluctantly forcing herself to break the domestic spell they found themselves trapped in.

"It's getting late." Faye pointed out, shifting her head to look up at her host. "We should probably get going."

"I'm not so sure you should be driving." Henry pointed out gently, glancing at her almost empty glass of wine.

"Gonna drive us home, then?" Faye giggled, nuzzling against his shoulder.

"Why don't you two just stay here for the night? Briar is already about to fall asleep on the rug." Henry chuckled, nodding toward the half asleep child on the floor.

"I didn't exactly plan on a sleep over."

"I have a spare room."

"Briar still has accidents, though. I don't want her ruining your mattress. Wait... I think I still have some diapers in the car!" Faye gasped, her eyes lighting up.

"I'll run out and get them, where are your keys?"

"In my jacket." Faye mumbled after a second of thinking, scooting over to allow Henry to stand.

After Faye woke up the toddler and got her changed, Henry scooped the little girl up, carrying her down the hall to the spare room to tuck her in, plugging in the night light he'd bought when he'd learned about her fear of the dark. He hadn't ever exactly planned on them staying over just yet, but thought it best to take precautions to keep the child placated and in her own room if they ever did stay over.

"Now, where were we?" Faye purred after he had pulled the door closed, wrapping her arms around his thick neck and leaning up on her tip toes to kiss at his jawline, her fingers toying with the hairs at the back of his neck.

"Faye, slow down." Henry chuckled, gently taking her elbows and moving her back.

"You don't want to?" Faye asked softly, uncertainty and insecurity written all over her face, tugging harshly at Henry's heart. This definitely wasn't how he planned on this night going.

"Shh, no tears." He soothed, wiping at the moisture she didn't even know was collecting in her eyes. Even though she had braced herself for rejection around every corner, she still found her heart breaking at the reality of it. She knew better than to get her hopes up. She had told herself time and time again not to even entertain the idea, but their last evening together on her couch continued echoing hope in her mind.

"I-I'm so sorry." Faye excused herself, pulling further away from him, looking away to hide her flushed face.

"Hey, no." Henry corrected, pulling her in close again. "Faye, I want this. I want you. Believe me, I really do, but not like this."

"What do you mean?" Faye sniffled softly, still not looking up at him, settling for resting her head against his chest.

"You're not even fit to drive right now, Faye. I'd only be taking advantage of you." Henry explained, gently running his fingers up and down her spine. "And I'm not going to do that."

"What if I just jump you then?" Faye pouted, her hand sliding up his thick thigh, feeling emboldened by his admission.

"Then I'd say it's a good thing I'm a big boy that can take care of myself." Henry chuckled, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together.

"So you won't let me have any fun?" She pouted, finally turning her face to look up at him.

"Not like this. We'll see how you feel in the morning. Now let's get you off to bed." With that he scooped her up, chuckling at her grumbled of protest as he carried her down the hall to his bedroom, her complaints about being able to walk falling on deaf ears.

"But I'm not tired." Faye yawned as her final act of unconvincing defiance, cuddling into his chest as he pushed the door open.

"I'm sure you aren't, but it's getting late." Henry soothed, setting her down on the edge of the bed to rummage though his drawers to find her something to wear. Surely she wouldn't enjoy sleeping in her dress, no matter how beautifully it hugged every curve.

"Come on, let's get this off." Henry encouraged, tugging at the hem of her dress.

"Oh, change your mind?" Faye giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

"No, I just don't think this is too comfortable to sleep in." Henry chuckled, helping her to her feet and turning her around to better access the ties holding her dress in place.

"Wait." Faye suddenly protested.

"What's wrong?" His hands, froze, his eyes snapping up to look at the back of her head.

"I'm not wearing a bra." Faye mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself in a hug. Of course, now she's shy. How was this the same girl that was trying to grope him not ten minutes earlier?

"Promise I won't look." Henry chuckled, shaking his head at his fickle house guest as he finished untying her dress, Faye reluctantly letting it fall away, all the while feeling she should have asked him to turn the lights off first. She quickly grabbed the shirt off the edge of the bed and pulled it on, glancing over her shoulder to find he had turned around, eyes averted to the wall as he waited, just like he promised.

"Thank you." Faye mumbled, tugging at the hem of the shirt, wishing it were just a little longer. "You know, I'm not that drunk." She tried one last time. "I'm tipsy at best."

"It still wouldn't be right." Henry shrugged, moving around her to pull down the blankets and gently usher her into bed.

"Wait, you are staying with me, right?" Faye half yawned, turning her big doe like eyes up to him.

"I don't know, are you going to keep your hands to yourself, Miss Warren?" Henry teased.

"I'll be good. Just want a cuddle." Faye assured, snuggling back into the bed, watching his every move as he went about preparing himself for bed, stripping out of the too tight button down, tossing it into the laundry as he absently scratched at his furry chest. His pants quickly followed in suit before he shut the lights off and clambered into bed next to her. Normally he would sleep bare, but decided it wouldn't be the best idea given the current circumstances.

"Now remember, hands to yourself, Miss Warren." Henry reminded, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. Faye cuddled into him and drifted off into a dreamless sleep, happily curled into his side and breathing him in with a small smile etched on her face.

The next morning, Faye woke up to someone breathing in her ear and a rather heavy arm slung across her chest. She shifted her leg and couldn't help but smile to herself when her thigh brushed against something hard, moving her leg against it again with more purpose, rousing the slumbering man next to her.

"Mmm, good morning." He hummed, cracking his eyes open, his hips rolling toward her probing thigh.

"You know, I'm not drunk anymore." Faye pointed out, squealing when she found herself suddenly trapped beneath him.

"Is that right?" He hummed, pressing gentle kisses to her neck and shoulder, letting one hand gently glide up and down her side, slowly lifting the hem of her improvised nightgown as he went. It would seem she found herself in the presence of a morning person. A very eager morning person, complete with morning wood. He sat back on his heels as he slid her shirt off, biting his lip and groaning softly at the first glimpse of her naked chest.

"Fucking gorgeous." He growled, leaning in and kissing her left breast tenderly, basking in her low whines, her legs wrapping around his waist as he caught her nipple in his mouth, gently flicking it with his tongue. So soft. So tender.

Slowly he slid further down her body, gently untangling her legs from his torso as he descended, leaving small kisses and nips along her stomach, Faye's increased breathing and soft whimpers only spurring him on. His eyes caught a small bit of color creeping over her left side, his attention instantly diverting to the artwork decorating her ribs. "A little mermaid." He chuckled, his fingers gently tracing the lines before pressing a quick kiss to it, not missing her ticklish squirm. That would be something to remember for later.

Henry continued his descent, his unshaved scruff eliciting a shiver as it drug along her sensitive skin, finally coming to a rest at her lacy panties, humming to himself in appreciation. He definitely was a man that enjoyed seeing his lady in lace. His fingers skimmed along the top of her panties, Faye gasping and fighting to stay still as he pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss to her still clothed mound.

"What are you doing?" Faye gasped, sitting up on her elbows as he slid her panties to the side, her chest heaving in anticipation as she met his gaze.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, raising a brow, his fingers gently tracing where her leg met her body.

"I... you don't... have to do... that."

"I want to." Henry explained, leaning in and licking a stripe up between her nether lips, a strangled gasp catching in her chest. He shifted between her legs, hooking her knees over his broad shoulders for better access, pressing an absent minded to kiss to the water colored artwork decorating her thigh. He would have to take a closer look at that later but for now, he was a man on a mission.

He delved back in, his tongue eagerly exploring her glistening petals, chuckling to himself when her hips bucked up into his waiting mouth.

"Oh, you are definitely going to be sitting on my face later." Henry hummed to himself, laying a thick forearm over her hips to keep her still. "But for now, let me do the work."

His lips sealed around her sensitive bud, sucking gently as his tongue worked over it, her hips jerking with every flick of his tongue. Her fingers tangled themselves in his untamed curls, her nails scratching at his scalp as she tried to pull him closer. More. She needed more.

He worked over her sensitive clit, moaning softly at the way she would tug on his hair, her legs clamping on his head when she moaned out his name, her hips spasming even under his restraining arm as she came hard on his waiting tongue. It would appear his lady was easy to please.

"Taste so good, Faye." Henry whispered, planting one final kiss to her soaked folds before carefully pulling back.

"That was amazing." Faye panted, releasing his hair with shaking hands to push her own sweat dampened strands from her face.

"Your pussy tastes so good." Henry praised, slowly crawling up her body, licking his lips lewdly as he stared down at her with lust blown eyes.

"Really?" Faye mumbled, her brows knitting together. "Every boyfriend I've had acted like that was a chore. That's why I said you didn't have to."

"They don't know what they're missing." Henry snorted, pressing his still clothed erection against her swollen, sensitive folds, his shoulders slumping when a faint crying met his ears.

"Shit, the baby." Faye groaned, her face falling.

"Go on, make sure she's ok." Henry relented, reluctantly removing himself from her.

"What about you?" Faye asked, already pulling the borrowed shirt back on.

"I'll be out once I calm down a bit."

"I'm so sorry." Faye sighed, squeaking in surprise when he playfully swatted at her backside when she slid out of bed.

"Go check on the baby, I'll be out in a bit." Henry dismissed, unashamedly staring at her ass as she headed to the door.

"Enjoying the view?"

"More than you know."

"One of these days, we are going to seal the deal, Mr. Cavill." Faye assured, giving him a pointed look as she slipped out the door.

"I look forward to it." Henry sighed to himself. Hopefully that day was going to come soon. The wait was killing him.

@Xxxkatxo @Weallhaveadestiny

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fanfiction #guys like you #guys like you fic

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Gimme Love, 1/9 (Miz Cracker/Blair St Clair) - Grinder

AN: Welp! I started this back in March. It was supposed to be a oneshot and then I realised it was 200 odd pages. Whoops! Another songfic based on music by Joji. This one is Gimme Love, which some of you would probably know, it was circling TikTok for a while. Anyway, more song fics to come!! I hope y'all enjoy! Stay safe in these crazy times!

TW: Mental health, panic attacks

1993

"OK, so you got your apple juice, your finger sandwiches, and grapes. And most importantly, you got your best outfit on. Ready?"

No. I wasn't ready. They were going to eat me up. I knew just by how the 3 bitches off to the side stared and laughed. One of them was swinging from the bus stop pole. It sounded evil, but I hoped she would have fallen over.

"No." I clung to my Mother.

"Brianna." She uttered. She was tired, already having dealt with this before leaving the house. And it didn't help that Grandpa only laughed instead of helping out.

"No!" I said louder, squeezing my tiny fists into her shoulders.

"Look. Everything will be fine. The day will fly in, trust me. And I'll be right here when you get off the bus later." Mom continued.

She gave me a kiss on the forehead and shook me off.

As she smoothed her skirt down, I stamped my foot in a huff. For me, this was the second most ultimate betrayal that had ever happened to me. My Mom was making me go to school. How dare she.

"I love you, girl. Be good and have a great day." Mom said before walking away. My gaze followed, feeling the faucet in my eyes turn on. I was prone to cry baby behaviour around this age.

Now that my Mom was gone, it was all game for the bitches.

"Awww, the little baby needs her Mommy." One of them cooed in her fake voice. "Didn't you know the pre-school bus picks up two hours later?"

"Yeah!" Another decided to join in, "And I bet that's not even your real Mommy."

"She is too!" I clenched my tiny fists at my side. This was half true. I was an adopted child, but to me, Roberta was the best Mother I could have ever asked for. And no one had the right to question that.

"No, she's not! Your real Mommy didn't want you 'cause you're ugly!"

"Yeah, look at your hair. It looks like a fur ball."

"And your clothes are obviously hand me downs."

I stamped my feet again. "That's it! I'm giving you the finger!" I flipped them off. I picked it up from Mom, from the many time's drivers pissed her off. When she'd warn me never to do that, I knew it had some sort of power to it.

But it did nothing. The girls just laughed even more. I had no defences; therefore, I was left helpless.

The bus pulled up, and I was last to get in. The girls warned almost everybody to watch out for the "girl with the weird hair".

I moved down the middle of the bus, my head moving from side to side, hoping to find a seat.

Everybody with a free seat either put their bags on the chairs or put their feet up. I wanted to snap, demanding that they let me sit. But the fear inside rendered me silent.

I was nearing the back, where the 3 girls sat. They smirked upon seeing my face, relishing in the fact I was on the verge of tears. All I wanted was to turn back, get off the bus and lock myself in my house.

But as if someone above heard my innermost thoughts, that's when I heard it.

"Do you need a seat?"

I looked towards the voice. And I froze. There she was, an absolute angel. She looked like a Disney Princess with her bright blonde hair and blue eyes.

I hesitated for a moment. But the bus began to move. So I sat down next to her.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey." Her eyes were observing me, looking me up and down. And I felt even more stunned. "You have funny hair."

"My Mommy says I have lovely hair," I replied in defence.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just never seen hair like that." The girl replied.

My hair wasn't even bad. I just had a massive head of untamed brown curls. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then again, I had never seen anyone with hair like hers. She looked like she had gone to a salon beforehand. "Your hair looks golden."

"Thank you." She smiled. "I'm Blair. My favourite colour is yellow, and I wanna be a singer when I grow up. How about you?"

"I'm Brianna. My favourite colour is pink. And...I wanna be a politician someday."

"What's a pola...polatichon?" Blair asked.

"A politician." I corrected her. "I don't know what they do. They just shout a lot. And that's what I want to do."

Blair had no idea what I was talking about, but she laughed anyway. And that made my heart skip a beat.

I felt something pelt the back of my head. I grabbed it, looking at the small rolled up bit of my paper in my hand. It was wet. I had just been spitballed for the first time.

Blair looked over her shoulder, and I did the same. It was the three bitches from the bus stop. They weren't even hiding their giggles.

"Not nice." Blair stuck her tongue out at them. Then, turning back around in her seat, she put her hand on mine. "Don't worry about them. I'm your friend, Brianna."

"Really?" My eyes brightened.

"Of course!"

As much as that statement had made my heart soar, how it made me feel like there was nothing to be afraid of…

It was the biggest lie I heard that day.

As soon as I got off the bus at the end of the day, I waved to Blair, unaware that she would be sitting with the 3 bitches the next day.

And then it went on for years, being that ugly girl with weird hair. And it didn't help that I needed glasses later in life.

But I wasn't completely alone. So let me tell you about Jujubee.

2020

"Hey, asshole! I'm pulling in there!"

Jujubee was hanging out the driver side window, flicking the indicator aggressively.

"Juju, can you just...not do that?" I asked, my eyes glued to my phone as I checked how many people had seen my Instagram story. It was a picture of the two of us, showing off our outfits that had been gifted from Alexander McQueen.

"And let that asshole steal my spot? Absolutely not." Jujubee protested. She flipped the guy off, only to receive the same gesture back at her. She wasn't prone to behaving like this. I usually found it absolutely hilarious how loud she could be.

Now, you're probably wondering - two well-dressed ladies in their Alexander McQueen outfits should be seated in the back of a limo, sipping champagne.

I wasn't a fan of limos. They only drew attention.

And with Jujubee hurling dog abuse at the other drivers, I was sure the attention would be on us.

But we made it to the event without any trouble.

Jujubee was hilarious, intentionally and unintentionally. I learned that all the way back on my second day of school. When it was clear to me that I wouldn't be friends with anyone else, I ventured off on my own, exploring the playground and looking for bugs. But, instead, I found her sitting alone in the sandbox.

"Leave me alone. I'm trying to dig to the centre of the Earth." She had said, blowing her shiny black hair out of her face.

I knew she would only reach the bottom of the pit, so I laughed, and I helped her dig. We had been inseparable since.

We grew up together, all the way through elementary, high school and college. And through those years, we had one thing in common - we were the weird ones. The kids who everyone bullied.

Ugh, I hated that word; bullied. It made me feel pathetic and helpless. Jujubee and I, however? We were far from pathetic and helpless. After all, how would we even be where we were if that was the case?

OK, maybe I was pathetic and helpless growing up. No, I was. I had just accepted all the name-calling, the shoving, the damage. Jujubee, on the other hand, would fight against it all.

But back to the current situation. We were now sitting at a table with the other project workers. Everyone was having a great time, and the event hadn't even really begun yet. They passed jokes around, talked about trials and tribulations, and I laughed along.

But I may as well have been alone as I was stuck in my own thoughts. How it was even possible, we were all gathered here for this moment.

I looked at Jujubee, sitting next to me, and felt an overwhelming need to hug the shit out of her. If it weren't for her being so encouraging, then maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"What's up?" She caught me staring.

I lowered my head for a moment, breathing a laugh out through my nostrils. I didn't want to get sappy with her, even though she deserved my gratitude. My best friend, my ride-or-die bitch. Lifting my head again, I smirked. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're on this team." I raised my glass to her before sipping the bubbling champagne.

"Proud of you bitch." Jujubee reaching over and squeezed my free hand.

I was proud of me too. Because, despite all of the shit I dealt with in school, here I was, the manager and director of this whole operation.

All of the hard work paid off - years of trials and tribulations, so many arguments and disagreements. We finally did it. We found a gateway to another world, a parallel universe, a portal in the middle of the space just waiting to be explored.

Of course, people doubted me. They said things like, "Well, it is a dream, all right." How could anyone blame them?

But here we were.

The speaker, Michelle, called me up onto the stage to receive a certificate, all encased in a glass frame. I exchanged air kisses with her and graciously took the award. Jujubee cheered me on as I stood up there, letting people take pictures.

And then came the obligatory speech.

I couldn't lie; I hated public speaking. It was always something I struggled with. But, I never backed down from one. I just liked to keep them short and sweet.

"Long story short, I had dreams, and I worked towards them. So, here I am, an example of the walking embodiment of success. And I thank each and every one of you, ladies and gentlemen. Have a great night."

Short and sweet. The crowd applauded.

Yes, I was told in the past that I'm arrogant, but I disagreed. I'd say confident. And there was nothing wrong with confidence. After all, there has been a stigma around that word. Doesn't it come from a sense of insecurity, the need to tear successful people down because you're afraid to strive towards your goals?

I deserved to feel this successful, for all those times I was laughed at and ridiculed. I look down on all those assholes and let them know that I made it.

I posed for pictures as I held my award, knowing they would be everywhere the next day; in the papers, magazines, the Internet.

This wasn't the first award I had received. I had a shelf full back home, along with all of my past badges. They reminded me that, once upon a time, I was just any other office worker with her yellow badge. And now here I was, the director of the project with my black badge working closely with the government.

I got off the stage and moved back to my chair. Jujubee rolled her eyes, but her smile remained.

"Where's the after-party?" I asked as the audience shifted their attention from me.

Sometimes I never understood how she put up with me. "Don't worry. I got us covered."

She wasn't lying. A few hours later, we were in the apartment of some other rich somebody. Music was bouncing off the walls, the speakers apparently on full blast.

The main lights were out, replaced with multicoloured LEDs dancing around the place. It was as if we were in our own private club.

Jujubee and I were in the crowd dancing, but because I was absolutely wasted, I lost her many times.

No need to panic, however. Jujubee wasn't a drinker. So she'd find me. She always did.

I really did feel sorry that she had to deal with all of my shenanigans.

"Juju, where the fuck are you??" I roared, not that it would do much. Midsummer Madness by 88RISING was blaring now. Starting to stress out now.

I grabbed a champagne flute as a waiter walked by.

"Brianna, I love the dress." A woman leaned over and shouted in my ear. I had met her before at another event, a fashion reporter if I remembered correctly.

"Thanks. It's Versaci."

As I said earlier, it was fucking Alexander McQueen. I was faded.

Somehow I ended up in the bathroom, throwing up all the alcohol I had consumed into the toilet. After I finished, I washed my mouth out, looked at my reflection and said, "Baby, you're a star."

And somehow, I made it back downstairs. I was searching for Jujubee but found someone else instead. And it was fucking Ed Sheeran.

"I love your new song." I lied.

"Which one?"

"The new one." I smiled. "Hey, Ed. You wanna be the first person to go through the portal?" I wrapped an arm around him.

He looked absolutely taken aback. "Of fucking course. My manager will be in touch."

I really hoped he was joking. Why the fuck had I even suggested it?

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Jujubee. My nerves settled, and I leaned closer to her. "Let's go outside."

I had no recollection of making it out to the balcony. The only thing I remembered happening before then was rambling to many strangers about how much I adored Jujubee.

A few other party attendees were outside too. I wanted to tell them how I didn't deserve Jujubee and that she was an angel. But she quickly steered me away.

I looked out over the city, a happy smile on my face.

"Are you having fun, baby girl?" Jujubee asked, using her favourite pet name for me. She sparked up a cigarette. I wanted to ask her for one, having gone from chain smoker to social smoker in recent years. But I was too distracted by the view.

"Yeah. I can feel it, Juju." I replied, looking at my hands. It was almost like I could actually feel it. The euphoric feeling of success running in my veins. "Good things are coming."

"Oh, I feel it too." Jujubee blew out the smoke and followed my gaze. "You know what? Your Grandpa was a great guy. And I know that he's proud of you."

My smile dropped. And I was silent.

I preferred to avoid speaking about things like this. Emotions weren't something I liked to deal with - another difference between Jujubee and me.

Just the year prior, we both went to see Midsommar. During the scene where the main character is having a breakdown on the ground surrounded by the Hargan woman screaming along with her, Jujubee was captivated. She looked almost like she wanted to scream along with them. And as she squeezed my hand and leaned over to me, she said, "I need someone to do that with me." I replied with a quiet, "Can't relate."

I'm not insensitive. I just feared emotions for two reasons.

1. They could be weaponised against me. And as much as I tried not to let the online hate get to me, I knew that if it ever became personal, then it would hit difficult.

2. The most important reason of all; a childhood full of breakdowns and too many emotions.

Jujubee nudged me. "You wanna go?"

I didn't want to. But I said, "Yeah. I'm...so drunk right now," and turned away from the city view.

"Can I be that annoying whore and ask if I can stay at your place?" Jujubee asked, taking my hand.

She didn't even need a reason. "Yes, you can."

We waded our way through the crowd, made for the door and left. And before I knew it, we were back at my place, lying in my bed. I loaned her a t-shirt to sleep in. I wanted to sleep in my Alexander McQueen. But Jujubee wouldn't let me.

We both lay there, facing the ceiling. I could already feel the oncoming suffering. Usually, I loved moments like these, when time became fluid, when I didn't have to worry about how I had even gotten home.

But my head was pounding, and the loud ringing in my ears was the cause. If I was bad now, I'd be dead by morning.

I could feel Jujubee's eyes on me, and I looked back at her. She was smiling, her brown eyes glimmering. "Almost there, girl."

Despite the pain I was in, I smiled back. I knew this whole thing, the thingy, the portal; it wasn't just my dream. It was hers too.

Fuck, I was hammered.

"Almost there," was all I could manage to say.

Jujubee turned on her side and treated me to some cuddly spooning. "OK, go to sleep, loser."

It was straining on my neck, but I kept my head turned, letting my eyes linger for a moment longer. God, I fucking loved that bitch. Nothing was ever going to come between us, and that made me the happiest.

I turned over, my back relaxing against her torso. Then, before giving in to my exhaustion, I checked my phone. The bright light made me squint at first. And the alcohol in my system didn't help matters.

I checked how many people had seen my story now. The number was blurry. So I aimlessly swiped notifications away.

But I stopped at one message in particular.

Blair: Hey Brianna! Long time no speak. I just wanted to say I saw pictures from your thing tonight. Congrats, girl! Look, I know you're probably super busy, but I'd love to have a catch up with you sometime.

"..." My eyes were wide. Now that was a name I hadn't heard in a long time.

1995

"Do you see Cassiopeia yet?" Juju whined.

I was trying my hardest to find it in the telescope. But the stars were all in clutters; there were so many. "No. I think I see the big dipper, though."

"Really? Let me have a turn!" Juju begged.

I pulled away from the telescope, allowing Juju her turn. Usually, I would have refused, only letting her use the scope after finding what I was looking for.

I really hadn't found the big dipper, but Juju bought it. "Wooooow. That's so cool."

"I know, right?" I smirked.

The backdoor opened, and Grandpa came out in his winter jacket, pj's and his signature slippers. "How many have you girls found now?"

He was carrying two mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream. I cheered excitedly because Grandpa's hot chocolate was the best, and I'd fight anyone who tried to tell me otherwise.

"We found the big dipper. But that's it." Juju replied, sounding very much let down.

"Don't lose hope," Grandpa gave us our hot chocolate, "some are harder to find than others. I bet there are a lot more constellations out there that haven't even been discovered yet."

I sipped the hot drink, and I could feel it already warming me up. I was so tempted to take my gloves off and let the mug warm them up. But we promised my Mom we would stay wrapped up. "Do you think we could discover one?"

Grandpa took a seat on one of the old deck chairs. "Brianna, you can do anything you set your mind to. Anything is possible."

"One day, I wanna get into a rocket ship and fly away," I said, looking up at the night sky, imagining the scene in my head.

"Hey, Mr Caldwell, are there other people like us? Just looking up at the sky?" Juju asked, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"That's an interesting question. I'd say yes, what with how nice the sky is tonight," Grandpa let his gaze trail up, the stars reflecting in his eyes, "But did you know, somewhere far, far away, there are two little girls who are exactly like you. They look the same, they talk the same and even have your names. And they are doing exactly what you're doing right now."

My brows knit in confusion, "what do you mean 'far far away?"

Grandpa looked down again, seeing how intrigued Juju and I was. "Let's just call it the other world. It's basically like our world, but...certain things are different. Like," he paused to think, "maybe cats bark and dogs meow. Or, maybe the sky is pink and not blue. Maybe you girls are actually older, and I'm the young one."

"Do horseys fly in the other world?" Juju asked with much optimism.

"Probably. I don't see why not." Grandpa shrugged.

I glanced up at the sky as if I would somehow just see it. Another world where life was somewhat better.

"Would my Mommy and Daddy have given me up in the other world?" I asked quietly.

Grandpa was silent. His lips were pursed, forming a tight line like there were words on the tip of his tongue that he knew he shouldn't say.

Juju hugged me from the side. I wanted to hug her back but didn't want to cry.

Her hold made me feel safe, so I offered her a half-smile.

Since my first day at school, when those cretins had tried to tell me Roberta wasn't my real Mom, it stuck with me. Yeah, I knew deep down those girls didn't know shit, and Roberta was the best Mother in the world, but I was only human.

As much as I loved my Mom, Grandpa and other family members, I just wanted to feel acceptance from my biological parents.

"Brianna, honey, whoever your family is in the other world, I'm sure they love you from the bottom of their hearts. Just like we do." Grandpa said. He extended his arms out, offering me a hug.

I didn't want it. But I knew I needed it.

That night, we didn't find any constellations. Not that it mattered. After my Grandpa went back inside, Juju and I were set on finding the other world instead.

And this interest went on for nearly a whole year.

It sounded dumb, but we would play games where we were our 'other world selves'. Juju lived in a house full of cats, and they were 'cutest cats in the whole country. So cute they won every pageant!'

And I lived in a huge mansion with my Mom, Grandpa, and my biological parents.

We collectively agreed that our other world selves were the prettiest girls in school, and we had tons of friends. We were so cool, we didn't even have to go to school.

Of course, this started a minor argument between us. Juju would always say, "how can we be the prettiest girls at school if we don't have to go to school??"

"Shut up, Juju! Anything is possible in the other world!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't make sense!"

All of it was so ridiculous. But we loved every minute of it.

I'll never forget the time we built a fort in the woods at the back of my house, and Juju stood under the archway and shouted. "I'm the queen of 'Other World'. Beware ye bastards who enter our domain!"

Then she got upset because she said a bad word and thought she had betrayed her parents.

A few minutes later, I fucked up.

"I, Brianna Caldwell, am the Queen of 'Other World'. I sit on this throne along with my best friend, Blair St Clair!"

Juju was even more upset now.

"Why is she your best friend?? I'm your best friend!" She began to cry.

"Jujubee, it's only pretend." I tried to reason with her.

"No, Brie-Brie. You're always talking about Blair! I know you would rather be best friends with her than me!"

"That's not true!"

"It is!" She wept. "She'll never be your friend, Brie-Brie. She doesn't even like you."

"Take that back!"

"No!"

My anger was bubbling beyond the boiling point. So I shoved her over. "Go away. Now!"

Juju ran off crying.

My teeth were grit, my fists clenched. For about 5 minutes, I stormed around the fort, screaming in anger and kicking the ground.

Mom was freaked out. She knew it was me screaming, so she came running. When she found me, she shouted at me for scaring the absolute fuck out of her.

This only pissed me off more. It took her 5 minutes to get me to chill out.

When I finally explained what happened, she told me it was OK and that we'd be friends again the next day.

It didn't help my mood, so she took me to the mall. It was a rare occasion for us to visit the place. We weren't the richest, what with Mom struggling to keep a job. She wasn't a lousy worker; someone else would just come along who was much more experienced. And without another parental figure to help out, it just meant not much money was being brought into the house.

But Mom decided we'd go to the toy store, and I'd find two dolls, one for me and one for Juju. I made sure they looked exactly like us. Well, considering the nice clothes and great hair, they were our other-selves.

And leaving the building, I was perched on Mom's shoulders, eating the biggest ice cream cone I had ever gotten, when I looked over at the jewellery shop. Two women were leaving the store, holding hands. They leaned in close to each other and kissed.

I just...stared as they smiled at each other, mesmerised by the adoration they so clearly shared.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Brianna, baby?"

"Why are those two ladies kissing?"

Mom cast a quick glance to where I was looking. "Oh. OK, first of all, don't stare. It's rude. But yeah, they're just two ladies in love with each other. That's all."

I looked away, just as she told me to do. "They're in love? I thought only boys and girls could be in love."

"I guess they're still telling you that in school, huh?" Mom quipped. "Well, I'll tell you this, but keep it on the down-low 'cause I don't want no parents coming and knocking on my door saying you're putting ideas into their kids' heads." She laughed. "The truth is; boys can fall in love with boys, and girls can fall in love with girls. You fall in love with whoever your heart tells you to, Brianna."

I nodded. "Uh, huh. OK, I understand." But then, it hit me. "Fuck."

"Brianna." Mom warned. She knew I was prone to sometimes spurting a few cuss words. But she only had herself to blame.

"Sorry, Mommy." And as we left the mall, my brain couldn't stop thinking about what had popped into my head.

Maybe, just maybe, I was in love with Blair.

My mind was taking me back to years prior, still in my first year of elementary school. It was coming up to Valentine's Day, and we all had to make a card for someone in the class. Bit of a weird activity for a bunch of kids who were more concerned if they were getting bikes for Christmas or not.

And I slaved over my card, making it yellow instead of the traditional pink colour, and drawing daisies all over it.

The message read, "You really deserve this. You're welcome." I've always been a poetic genius.

And instead of giving it to any of the boys, I insisted it went to Blair.

I had vague memories of that day. I only remembered her confused face as I handed it over.

I never received a card in return.

Of course, the other kids picked on me for it. But Juju had my back.

"You're all just jealous 'cause Brie-Brie's card is unique!" I remember her shouting.

But of course, they weren't jealous. This concept was foreign to them - a girl gifting another girl with a Valentine's Day gift. But then again, they just didn't know any better.

#rpdr fanfiction #s10 #miz cracker #jujubee #blair st clair #blair x cracker #fluff #coming of age #hurt/comfort #lesbian au #gimme love #grinder #concrit welcome #tw panic attacks #tw mental health issues

6 notes · View notes

dimensionwriter · 4 years

Text

Not Quite Dead Roommate

Male! Ghost x Gender Neutral! Reader

Warning: Some degradation (don’t know if that’s actually a trigger, but just wanted to make sure. So be careful)

Word Count: 7, 328

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“I think our house is haunted.”

Your roommate stared back up at you with those dark brown eyes. His pale skin had a light pink tinge on his cheeks due to him going through his second bag of hot cheetos.

“I think our house is haunted,” you repeated with a serious face. All your roommate did was slowly blink at you for a second before grabbing a hold of his black laptop. His slide his legs off the couch and patted the new made space.

“So, explain to me why you think our house is haunted all of a sudden?” he grumbled deeply as he closed his laptop. His dark curly brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun with a bunch of curls laying around his face.

You thought for a second he was taking you seriously until those dark pink lips slowly spread into a humorous smirk. His eyes were twinkling with amusement as he stared at you.

“I’m not joking,” you exclaimed throwing yourself on the couch. You naturally swung your legs on top of his and started glaring at him. His hand came from inside his hoodie, which was like a second skin to him, and rested on your legs. “Taoi, listen. This morning I woke up to the cabinet doors moving on their own.”

A small snort escaped his mouth as he tried to cover it. “This house is old. The cabinet probably moved because the house is settling.” You glared at him as he turned slightly smug for a second.

“Yesterday, I was in my room and the temperature dropped so low that I could see my breath,” you statd with a raised eyebrow. Taoi raised an eyebrow before rolling those dark brown eyes.

“Well,” he drew out fluttering his fingers up and down your leg. You tried your best to not get distracted from it as you stared at him. Even if his hand was chilling cold, it still felt nice on your leg, a little too nice. “You didn’t go to sleep the day before and was most likely hallucinating. I turned the air on higher because it was getting too stuffy for me. Probably just saw something floating across your room.”

“What about the time I went to get something to drink and there was nothing on the counter and I turned around to ask if you wanted something, which you said no to. But when I turned back around, there was a full cup sitting on the counter already.”

He looked up from your legs to shrug his shoulders. His dark eyes were too busy staring at his finger dancing across your skin.

He didn’t have an excuse. Yes, he couldn’t explain that, so he has to believe you.“Or the day when you were out for work, I passed by a mirror and saw something standing in my room. I turned around and nothing was there.”

He stopped his fingers and tensed up. His face slowly started turning pink as he turned to look out at the backyard.

“See, there’s no way to explain it. I really think our house is haunted,” you yelled grabbing his arm. You begin to shake him, trying to get that common sense in him.

“Fine. Fine. I believe you,” he yelped with a slight laughter in his voice. You stopped tugging him, but left your hands on his biceps. Your roommate wasn’t the buffest guy in the world, but he still had some muscle to him. “But don’t you think it’s weird how this ghost is only bothering you. Maybe…maybe it has a crush on you?”

You didn’t know it was possible for you to move that fast. In a blink of an eye, Taoi had one of the couch pillows slamming into his face. A high pitch squeal came from him as he tried to protect himself from your assault.

“Take this serious,” you grumbled slamming the pillow one last time into his face before throwing it behind you. Small giggles escaped from Taoi as he looked at you between his hands.

“I’m just saying. Waiting in your room for you, getting things out for you, checking in on you. Don’t you think those are pretty romantic,” he sung out fluttering his dark eyelashes. He twisted his body and laid down in the small space between you and the back of the couch, which was barely 4 inches. You moved your arm and wrapped it around him. He was quick to snuggle into your side with a small content sigh slipping out. You pretend to ignore the butterflies that erupted in your stomach at the moment.

“That’s not romantic in any shape or form,” you mumbled. Your fingers sunk into his fluffy hair and begin to play around with it. Taoi’s body seem to somehow melt as your nails scratched his scalp.

“What do you think is romantic?” He purred with a voice so deep that it scared you for a second. You sometimes forget that Taoi’s voice range can go to dog whistle or bass drop whenever he feels like it.

“Not haunting the crap out of me,” you said instantly glaring around, just in case the ghost was listening. A low whimper caused you to look down to see Taoi’s staring at you with doe eyes accompanied by his lips poked out. You were confused for a second before you realized you had stopped playing with his hair. Such a needy baby.

“No seriously. What do you find romantic?” He said throwing an arm around your waist. You tilted your head back as you tried to think. It’s been a while since you’ve dated and you kind of forgot what you liked. Ever since you moved in with Taoi, you really haven’t really found anyone that caught your eye.

“I really don’t know. Stuff that shows that the person cares about me. Maybe a few sweets and gifts would be nice, but nothing overbearing. Letting me steal a hoodie or two,” you joked at the end. Taoi was quiet after you stopped talking. Did he fall asleep?

“Mmm, okay,” he whispered. You looked down to see he was staring intensely at the floor. His eyes were glazed over slightly.

“Taoi. Are you okay?” He blinked slowly before looking up at you. A small gentle smile appeared on his face as his eyes begin to twinkle like the night stars. You breath got stuck in your throat as you looked down at him.

You’re not dumb, you do know that your roommate is extremely attractive. You’ve been able to live pretty normally with him with this knowledge. It just that he sometimes catches you off guard. Especially moments like this.

“Sorry, got distracted by that stain on the carpet. You should go to bed. You have work in the morning,” he rambled out patting your side. You narrowed your eyes at him, but still slide off the couch.

“That’s real rich coming from a guy who has insomnia,” you yelled walking to your room. You stopped at the door way and turned back to look at him. “You better take your medicine tonight. If I wake up in the middle of the night to see you standing around weirdly, I’m forcing you into a blanket burrito.”

A bark of laughter escaped him at your last statement. He started laughing so hard that he fell off the couch.

“Okay, I have accidently killed you. Well, I’m heading to bed. So goodnight.” You didn’t get a response from him. But you could still hear his high pitched giggles from outside your door.

The high pitched melody from your phone assaulted your ears as the intense sunlight melted your eyes through your eyelids. The throbbing sensation in your head slowly increased along with the alarm.

You quickly rolled over and slammed your finger on the dismissed button. Your body felt so icky and you wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. But you needed to go to work.

Why did you think it was a good idea to stay up until 3 am to look up info on ghost when you had to be up at 6 for work? Do you really need money?

The temperature in your room plummeted. You gripped your covers as your eyes shot wide open. A slight fog was encasing your room in an eerily vibe.

“Can you not bother me right now?” You grumbled grabbing the quilt and wrapping it tighter around you. You just need 5 more minutes and you’ll deal with the ghost. Yeah, just 5 more minutes.

“Get…up,” an airy voice whispered in your ear. A light breeze fanned across your cheeks causing a chill to go down your spine. It was so close to you.

But you were too tired to care. You wanted nothing more than to drift into that peaceful land of sleep and let this throbbing headache fade away.

“Get up.” It said slightly louder. The quilt wrapped around your body was ripped from you. A loud groan of irritation erupted from your throat as the cold air hit your skin.

“Fine. I’m up!” you screamed jumping out of bed with a slight tantrum. You could see a figure disappear from the corner of your room. Your quilt laid on the ground, but instead of a jumbled mess, it was folded perfectly. At least they weren’t annoying you more with a mess to clean up.

Begrudgingly, you walked to your connected bathroom and started the shower. While the shower was warming up, you quickly brushed your teeth and did your face routine.

The mirror was fogged up from the steam of the shower, but you didn’t really need to see yourself in order to finish the routine. It was kind of muscle memory at this point.

“E-A-T-B-R-E-A-K-F-A-S-T.” The letters was slowly written in the fog on the mirror. You were kind of startled by it, but didn’t react that much. All you really did was roll your eyes at the statement and use your hand to wipe away the condensation on the mirror.

“I hope you’re not a perv and going to watch me take my shower,” you grumbled with a slight edge to your tone. You glared into the mirror at really nothing, but hope the ghost could see you.

“B-Y-E.” It appeared in the corner of the mirror, a spot you didn’t reach. The steam slowly faded away, making it feel like the creature really left you.

You walked out of your room to see a bunch of pancakes, waffles, pastries, and juice sitting on the little dining table. There was a small thing of scrambled eggs being made on the stove, but no one was near the stove.

“Taoi! What have I told you about leaving food unattended?” You yelled turning around. You looked at Taoi’s door as you waited for him to stumble out.

“What do you mean?” A voice hummed out. You turned around to see Taoi in his black hoodie holding the handle on the pan. His dark eyebrow was raised up in confusion as you stared at him with wide eyes. “I was watching it.”

“How-wait-what?” You stumbled as you turned between Taoi and his door. There was definitely no one in the kitchen. It’s an open space house, so there was no way he could have hid anywhere. How did he manage to get there?

“I was right here,” he said slowly while pointing to the eggs with a spatula. You blinked slowly at the statement. You know what you saw. “Is your little ghost boyfriend messing with your vision now?”

Your eyes narrowed threateningly at his statement. “It’s not my boyfriend. If anything, it’s annoying,” you grumbled, rubbing your eyes to wake yourself up. You felt like you were going to pass out from how tired you were.

“Aww, trouble in love town,” he teased scrapping the eggs onto a plate. He walked over to the dining table and placed the plate down. He pulled out a chair for you, which made you smiled a little.

When you first met, you told him he didn’t need to pull out a chair for you, but he still insists. He can be such a sweetheart sometimes.

“Now, tell Taoi why you angry with your little ghost?” he asked putting some food on our plate. While he did that, you grabbed the juice and pour your own cup and gave him some apple juice.

You explain to Taoi how the ghost decided to be your alarm this morning and wake you up. You even included the incident in the bathroom.

“Well, I thank the ghost. If he didn’t wake you up, I would have came in with the pillow you hit me with last night.” A small giggle escaped your mouth at his threat; he can barely hurt a fly. He would come in like always and just lightly shake you awake. The worst he has done was ripped the quilt off you, but a second later he folded it because he felt bad.

Almost like…like the ghost did.

You open your mouth to reveal an oddity when your phone rang. You pulled it out of your back pocket to see it had the word ‘Female Satan’ flashing on screen. Oh gosh.

“Hey, I need you to be at work in 17 minutes. Important people are coming over soon and I want us to go over the project with them,” she said instantly. You bit the inside of your cheek to stop from screaming at her. She knew you lived 15 minutes from work, so she’s literally giving you no time to do anything else.

“Yes, ma'am. I’m heading out the door now,” you said in a polite tone as you stood up from the dining table. You tried to ignore the look Taoi was giving you and your untouched plate. You’ll just have to eat later.

“Good.” The phone was cut off and you let out a quick growl at it. You tucked it away in your back pocket.

“You haven’t eaten yet,” Taoi mumbled in the deep voice. Ah, he was getting upset. You felt really bad since he got up early to cook all of this, but your boss is so strict. You don’t need to be written up and punished because of her. “She’s called you for the last 2 weeks early in the morning. You haven’t had a chance to eat.”

You glanced at him as you grabbed your keys from the door. He was glaring intensely at your now cold plate.

You glance between the door and him. You got a few seconds.

You grabbed the side of his cheek and placed a kiss on it. His eyes widen and his head snapped your way. A light pink blush spread up his neck as you gave him an appreciative smile.

“Thank you Taoi for the meal. It made my day, really. I’m sorry that I haven’t had time to eat breakfast with you, but just seeing you is enough to give me the boost I need, especially knowing I can come home to see you. Thank you, Taoi.”

He just stared at your for a second in shock. You may or may not have crossed a line. The two of you are touchy and slightly affectionate, but kissing on the cheek is on an entire different level.

“Well, bye,” you stuttered running to the door. You didn’t lock the door, Taoi always locks it after you, and ran to your car.

Two minutes into your drive to work, you realize you left the bag with the paperwork on your bed. A huge dosage of adrenaline shot through you as you quickly swerved your car around.

If you drive fast enough and call a coworker to get a room set up for you, you should have enough time. Well, only if luck is on your side.

Quickly, you shoved your keys into the door and slammed it open. The first thing you noticed was the blasting music shaking everything in your house. Next was everything in your living room floating off the ground. And finally was Taoi dancing on top of the ceiling with the biggest smile on his face.

You stood for a second as you let the situation you were in sink in. Your roommate is dancing across the ceiling like he’s in a music video while stuff is spinning around the living room.

“I’m in love with my room-” he cut himself off as he finally made eye contact with you. Instead of his usual dark brown eyes, it was pitch black. His skin was a lot more pale, actually it was kind of see through. He seem to be more skinner with his black eyes sinking into itself.

“You’re-you’re home?! Here-now-why? Fuck,” he yelled looking around. Everything slammed on the ground, causing the coffee table to flip over. His body shot like a rocket into the floor.

“Yeah..Forgot something,” you mumbled in a dazed. You quickly walked past him and ran into your room. The door slammed behind you and you threw your body on it.

Black eyes. Pale see through skin. Floating in the air. Ability to make everything float. There’s no denying it, he’s a ghost. Your roommate is the ghost!

On top of your bed was your brown work bag with the paperwork in it. Oh yeah, work. Your boss is going to kill you if you show up late.

Sucking in a giant breath of air, you grabbed the bag in your right hand and with your left hand pushed open the door, maybe a little too hard since a loud crashing sound came from the impact it had on the wall. You kept your head straight forward and marched into the hallway to the living room.

In your peripheral, you could see Taoi was back to normal. His hood was all the way up with the drawstring pulled, making his face encased in fabric.

His head was quick to turn to you when you stepped into the living room. His mouth dropped open and his lips begin to move, but not a single sound came out of him. You continued walking with your head held forward.

“Wait!” He yelled as you open the door. He jumped off the couch and stumbled to get to the door. You quickly shut it on him with a slight shake in your hand. A light scraping sound echoed from inside the house followed by a soft whimper.

You don’t really remember the drive to work. You just blinked and you were sitting next to your annoying boss in a meeting with a client. She was clicking through a PowerPoint while pointing some stuff out with a laser.

Letting your head drop down, you looked down to see that your notepad was filled with random words. When did you write all of this?

'Ghost has been bothering you for months. Has appeared in your room throughout the day. Never was hostile. Roommate was seen floating in the air with black hollow eyes. Roommate must be ghost. Roommate is ghost. Ghost is not hostile therefore roommate is not hostile. Roommate is hot so ghost is-’

The random writing ends there with a bunch of harsh scribbles. Why would your brain think of that last part? This is a serious moment right now.

What are you supposed to do when you go home? Do you just walk in the door like 'what’s up my dead roommate. What did you cooked for dinner?’ There’s no way you can act natural around him without freaking out on him. Things have changed now.

But there was another part of your brain asking if it really had. You have been rooming with Taoi for 4 years now and not once has he ever did any harm to you. So what if he just turns out to be a spirit that is wondering the mortal land, that’s fine. He’s still that dorky, computer obsessed, mother goose Taoi. And you should be accepting of him, no matter what form he’s in.

So, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to slam the door in his face.

You slammed your head on the table and let out a low groan to vocalize the regret bubbling inside of you. How could you do that to him, sweet Taoi? He probably was scared, but still willing to talk, and you just straight up ignored him. You are officially the worst friend in the universe.

“Assistant!” You sat straight up and turned towards your boss. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at you with a look of disbelief. You were confused for a split second at her behavior before you realize that everything you just did could be seen and heard by your boss and clients.

“Sorry, sharp..stomach pains?” You sputtered out giving everyone an embarrassed smile. The client sat there while staring at you weirdly and your boss started raising an eyebrow in warning. “Sensitive stomach, you know.”

“Do they need…to be dismissed?” One of the clients whispered quite loudly to your boss. They were trying to appear to be subtle, but this room was so quiet that you could hear your cells moving, so them whispering was equivalent to them using a megaphone.

“Ah, yes. Go to the office, nurse, or whatever and feel better,” she said, barely sparing you a glance after waving you away. “We really care about our workers here at-”

You drowned her out as you scooted out of your chair. You instantly huddled over and grabbed your stomach, trying to really bring home your lie. With a quick few wobbles and fake gasp, you exited the room into the peaceful hallway.

Now, you have a good amount of time on your hand. Do you call Taoi and apologize to him and listen to his explanation? If you were him, you wouldn’t answer the phone at all. I mean, you slammed the door in his face.

The two of you have never blocked each other off while arguing. No matter how loud or angry the argument got, you still listened to each other. You guys just had that connection.

But you threw it down in the gutter and watched as it floated away in the rest of the trash in your life. That was a very vulnerable moment for him and you closed him out, physically and mentally.

But maybe, just maybe, you could fix this.

You closed the door to your office behind you and threw yourself on your work chair. The office was bleached white with no colour in it, except for the monotone stationary that occupied your desk.

Okay, so the plan. You’ll call Taoi and instantly apologize for your actions. Then you guys will make up and everything will go back to normal. Simple, right? Probably not that simple, but in a broader sense, that could be how things turn out. Hopefully Taoi is being forgiving this evening.

You grabbed your phone and ignored the notifications on your screen, you were on a mission. Dialing his number, you spun around with a sense of determination boiling within you.

“Um, hi,” Taoi stuttered out. But the phone pressed against your ear was still ringing. The voice was coming from the wall barely a feet from your face.

Taoi’s face was phased through the wall as he stared at you with those black eyes. The skin on his skull seemed to have sunken in with a few barely visible black veins running from his eyes.

You wanted to scream in fear from being startled by Taoi’s sudden appearance. Instead, a tidal wave of fear and anxiety flooded your senses, leaving you standing there like a fool.

“Sorry, I know you probably don’t want to see me-who would- but I called a couple of times to make sure you were okay and you didn’t answer. And I knew you were probably ignoring me, but then my anxiety was 'What if they got into a car accident and died’. I tried to fight against those thoughts because it’s you and you’re too awesome to die. However, they wouldn’t go away for nothing. So I decided it would be a good idea to come see you at work and-” he stopped rambling as he looked at your face. Throughout his word vomit, a giant smile was slowly spreading onto your face.

“You still checked on me, even after what I did,” you whispered giving him a pure joyful smile. His face contorted to confusion for a second.

He floated through the wall and landed on the ground. His pale, but peachy pigment slowly bled back into his skin as if life was being pushed back into him. He blinked a few times and the pitch black eyes slowly turned into those dark brown ones that you were used to, but those black one are becoming familiar too.

“I don’t think I understand. What did you do wrong?” He asked scratching the top of his head in confusion. His thick eyebrows were scrunched up as he did that adorable head tilt.

“I ignore you during a very important moment for us and then slammed the door in your face. A part of me believed you wouldn’t have wanted to deal with me,” you rambled out letting your eyes drifted away in shame. You suck as a friend.

“What!” He yelled scrunching up his face even more. “You did nothing wrong. I was the one who hide my identity from you. You were just simply shocked. I would have ran for the hills and never came back if I walked in to see my roommate turn into this hideous monster.” He forced out a harsh laugh that made your heart drop. Is that how he sees himself, as a hideous monster?

“First thing, you’re not a hideous monster; you’re Taoi who’s a handsome ghost that can steal the heart of anyone living and dead. Second off, why do you think I would run from you and never come back? I would miss you so much. I was in the midst of preparing myself to gravel at your feet for you to take me back,” you spoke from the heart as you stared into his eyes. A light pink blush slowly spread onto his face as his eyes dropped to the ground.

“You’re too important to me for you to just disappear,” you whispered. You took a step closer to him and placed a single finger under his chin. You lifted his head and a pair of sparkling black eyes stare back at you.

“So, you don’t care that I’m not exactly human,” he mumbled twirling his thumb. You could feel how tense he was just from under your finger.

“You could literally be a glob and I would still not care. I like you for who you are, not for what you are,” you said giving him a giant smile. He frowned for a split second before his hands came up to his face.

He floated off the ground and circled into a ball near the ceiling. A muffled high pitch scream came from as his feet kicked around a bit. Gosh, he’s adorable.

“You okay, Taoi?” you teased getting on your tippy toes. He peaked the top of his head out of his hands and you realized he shifted again. His sharp cheekbones were completely red from how hard he was blushing. You didn’t know he could turn that red. “I thought ghosts were suppose to be see-through, not red.”

He let out a groan and covered his face again. “It’s because of you. I feel like you know. Wait-do you know?”

He ripped his hands away from his face and stared at you with wide eyes of accusation. What does he mean by you knowing? Is there something else?

“If you say that you’re also a werewolf or something, you’re going to have to answer a thousand more questions tonight,” you half heartedly jokes. By the way he rolled his eyes at that statement, you concluded that he was not a werewolf. So, what else is he hiding?

“No, I thought you figured out that I liked y-y-y-yams,” he stuttered for a little before sputtering out the last word. A panic smiled rise onto his face as he stared at the wall behind you intensely.

“Taoi, you hate yams,” you stated blinking slowly at him. He always stuck his tongue out at yams when you pass by them during shopping.

“I know,” he said with a monotone voice. “Anyway, I’m going to go home now. Bye.” He quickly floated out of the room leaving you there confused. This is what you meant. No matter what form he is in, Taoi is still your Taoi.

Yours?

You walked into the apartment later that night with a big headache banging in your head. You got an ear full from your boss after the meeting and she decided to give you a punishment where you had to print off all your electronic documents and filed them away. It was a year’s worth of stuff.

“You’re home,” Taoi squealed floating through his bedroom door. He took one look at your face and froze. “Ah, I guess I should let you get use to the ghost stuff.”

“No, you’re fine. I’m just tired from work,” you grumbled throwing yourself on the couch. You left your bag beside the door and didn’t plan on getting it any time soon.

“Okay, so you need cuddles is what I’m hearing.” You responded with a high pitch groan that you knew he would translate to yes.

A strange coolness encased your body causing a shiver to go down your body. Taoi’s arms went under your knees and on your lower back and he lifted you off the couch. He plopped down on the couch and put you on top of him.

“Now, tell me what happen. What did that old witch do to you?” he chimed petting the top of your head. You relaxed into him more and wrapped your arms around him.

So you laid there in the cool embrace of your roommate as you ranted about what unfolded after Taoi flew out of your office. The entire time he comforted you and tighten his embraced when he could tell that you were really getting worked up.

“What I am hearing is that this woman needs some special visit from your ghost roommate tonight,” he deadpanned. You let out a snort and shake your head at that. “What? It worked for Scrooge, maybe she needs it too.”

“No, you need to rest. You’re insomnia-” you stopped as you realized something and from the giggles underneath you, Taoi knew. “You don’t have insomnia because you don’t need to sleep.”

He started laughing at your shocked tone. You turned your head to look at him. His black eyes shined with humor at your coming with christ.

“I guess it’s a question and answer time,” he sung out scooting up on the couch. You fold your arms on top of his chest to get a better angle to look at.

“How about this?” He said drumming his fingers on your back. You had to fight against the desire to melt at the feeling. “I’ll summarize a bit and then if you have questions afterwards, you can fire them off.” You nodded your head and prepared yourself to inhale as much information as possible.

“So, first thing first, I really don’t remember much from my previous life. I think I was born somewhere during the 16th century. I think some time around October, I remember it being kind of cool, I guess. But my memory really kicks in around 300 years ago,” you let out a choked gasp at how old he is, “ Yeah I know I’m ancient. It didn’t take me long to realize I was a ghost. I mean floating around, looking like a demonic skeletons human, and doing all this weird paranormal stuff made it quite easy to realize. I stayed hidden for a good part of those 200 years, only really moving around when it was dark. Around the 190ish year, I realized I could alter my physical appearance if I thought hard about it. With lots of practice, I got pretty dang good at it and started interacting with humans. One day, a human tried to hug me and went straight through me. I played it off like I moved out of the way, but they didn’t trust me afterwards. Because of that incident, I had to leave that area and moved around them. I worked on making my body more physical, so that people won’t phase through me, it feels weird for me. And in the last 50 years, I got close to an old lady who stayed here. She figured out I was a ghost right on the spot, said something about seeing spiritual energy or something. I still have a theory that she’s a witch, but she’s gone now so…” You eyes widen and he looked down confused for a second before stuttering out no while waving his hands.

“Not like that. She left with her spouse to live in Iceland. She gave me the house and told me to do whatever with it. Decided to do a roommate thing and one thing led to another and we’re here.”

You stared at him for a second before giggling a little. He looked down at you with a singular raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, for a second I thought you were going to say that you went ghost mode on the woman and haunted her to death,” you said giggling. You twirled your fingers around the laces in his hoodies. His black eyes soften as an amused smile came onto his face. “But then I remember that it’s you, Taoi, and you can barely bump into someone without screaming out apologies.”

He rolled his eyes, but the pink blush coming onto his skin told you he was still affected by your words. He shifted underneath you and scooted up a little more. You shifted with him and moved yourself so you were more sitting on his lap.

“For the first question,” you said moving the conversation forward,“ how does to feel to be a ghost?”

He tilted his head to the left in confusion from your words. Dark brown curls tumbled over each other due to the shift of gravity. You really want to run your hand through his hair.

“Well, it’s kind of like TV static or similar to when your limbs fall asleep. Now imagine that, but for your entire body, everyday,” he explain sticking his arms out for you to look at. You poke his icy cold skin and looked at him for a reaction. “Kind of feels like ripple of numbness when you touch me. But it still feels nice because it some sort of feeling.”

You grabbed his arm and started running your fingers up and down it. You wondered what it would feel like to be completely numb the entire time. Can Taoi even feel the different type of emotion you put into your touches?

“Second question, how am I able to touch you right now instead of falling through,” you pointed out going as far to poke his arm a little harder. He let out a small laugh at the motion.

“I think about being solid. It’s kind of like if ice had a chance to choose what state of matter it wants to be in. So right now, I want to be in a solid state. And when I don’t want to, I can go to 'liquid’ where I’m still seeable, but just not touchable. For the final state, 'gas’, I’m literally just like this fog or whatever and just occupy an area. I an unable to be seen or touched.”

You nodded your head along in understandment. The first two made sense, but him just turning into a fog would be extremely weird. Wouldn’t he just-

“So you were the one in my bedroom this morning!” You screamed slapping his side. He let out a laugh as you playful slapped his arm. “I was tired.”

“Yeah, but you needed to get up for work. I thought if I get you up on time, you could actually eat breakfast,” he whined gripping you tighter. You felt bad that you were making him worried.

Taoi knew that you sometimes missed lunch due to your boss still trying to work you through it and most days you came home too tired to even consider diner. You really need to take care of yourself, at least for Taoi’s sake.

“I’ll promise you I will start eating breakfast,” you whispered. You lifted your hand and slowly embedded your fingers into his brown curls. His vantablack eyes shimmer under the fluorescent lights as he looked down at you. “Thank you so much for caring about me. I don’t think I can imagine my life without you in it.”

A light peach colour blush spread up his neck, but he maintained eye contact. “I feel truly alive when I’m with you. I can’t- I don’t think I can live without someone like you in my life.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead on yours. His skin felt so cool on yours, but you wouldn’t want it any other way.

“You have gained access into my heart and taught me what it is to live. I know I don’t have any internal organs, but when I’m around you, these butterflies flood my senses and all I can focus on is you. I know this may be the worst time to say this since you just found out today that I’m dead and this may be crossing boundaries. I mean, it will cross boundaries-”

You lean in closer to him until your noses was touching. Taoi’s sentence was cut off as his eyes dropped down to the little distance was between you two.

The peach blush turned into a dark red colour that painted his entire face. His lips moved around as he tried to form a word but failed.

“You know you look so adorable sometimes that I could kiss you,” you whispered staring deep into his eyes. Forget the boundaries that you have been trying to hide behind. Life is about taking risk and you haven’t been taking any.

“Ki-kiss me,” he stammered out shrinking down as the blush intensified. He glanced at you before looking down at his arm that was still around your waist. “Well, I- sometimes I want to ki-ki-kis kiss you too.”

Maybe you were just delusional from being exhausted from work or maybe you got a huge shot of adrenaline from his confession to, but you gained enough guts to grab the front of his hoodie and yanked his face forward until your lips were less than a hair away. His cool breath brushed against yours before stopping for a moment.

“What’s stopping you?”

Taoi’s eyes widen in shock at your boldness. For a split second, he looked confused on what to do before determination filled his black eyes.

He closed his eyes and went to close that small distance between you guys. You were about to kiss Taoi, the sweetest and kindest roommate in the world, who you thought maybe was out of your league.

You jumped at the feeling of something vibrating. Reaching into your back pocket, you pulled out your phone to see that 'Female Satan’ was calling. You glanced at Taoi to see his face confused and irritated.

“Hel-”

“I can’t even express how disappointed I am in you. I went to check on your work before I left because all today you have been inadequate. And as I was checking, I noticed you only had folders for 11 months. I had to tear apart every single folder and realized you put two February. Since you made me waste my time finding your mistake, I want you to come back right now and fix all of these right now.”

You froze up as you listen to her yell at you. That took you six hours to complete. You can’t complete this by tonight at all. You will have to pull an all nighter at work just to catch up.

“Fuck it,” Taoi growled snatching the phone out of your hand. You blinked away the tears you didn’t know had showed up. Black veins were running across Taoi’s face as a ferocious sneer was boiling on his face.

The cold surface beneath you disappeared and the plush sofa was pressed into you. You looked around confused at Taoi’s sudden disappearance. He just cussed. Taoi never cusses unless someone or something really pushes him.

Before you could begin to panic, a cold sensation surrounded you and lift you into the air. Taoi phased through the door with a giant smile on his face. His hair was floating like an ominous halo around him and the black veins were extremely prominent on his see through skin.

“Taoi, where did you go?” You yelled rotating in the air to look at him. He gave you a brighter smile that twinkled brightly.

“Just gave your boss a small little visit,” he hummed skipping through the air towards you. He jumped up and slowly floated down onto the couch. He reached into the air and wrapped his arms around you. The cold sensation disappeared and you were plopped into his lap.

“What-what did you do?” You asked but he just smiled at you. He pulled you closer and snuggled into you. “Taoi, what did-”

You phone vibrated again and by Taoi’s happy giggles, you were instantly concerned. Glancing at his joyous smile, you pulled out your phone and saw 'Female Satan’ calling.

“Hel-”

“I am so sorry for the way I have been treating you. I am ashamed of everything I have done to you. You deserve a vacation. Yes, yes. You can take the next week off. I’ll do you work. That-that’s a nice deed right! I can’t go to hell!”

The phone call was abruptly ended and you stared in confusion at the screen. What? What just happened?

“So what I am hearing is that you have plenty of time to take care of yourself and get away from that toxic job,” Taoi whispered rubbing the top of your head. You laid there as the shock slowly settled in.

You have never had a day off before. Everytime you tried to apply for a day off, she would say no because work is too important for you to be missing. But here you are with a full week off from work.

“Taoi,” you squealed wrapping your arms around him. Laughter poured out of him as you tighten your embrace him. “Thank you! Thank you!”

“You deserve to be treated like an Emperor. Anything that makes you sad or distress, i will be there to fix it,” he mumbled into you neck as you held him. You loosen your grip on him and his forehead instantly seek yours out.

“Taoi,” you whispered staring deeply into his black eyes. “You’re too good. I wish there was a way to thank you.”

His eyes glanced down for a split second before a small smirk came onto his face. “I can think of one thing. My lips are pretty cold from outside. Think you can warm them up?”

Warmth spread up your neck and was slowly conquering your face. Who would have thought you would end up in the arms of your best friend, who turns out to be this ghost. Life can be crazy with all of these changes, but this one, this change was definitely going to be good.

“I would be happy to help you with that.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

First off, I don’t know if this is considered a monster in this community, but I just wanted to get a story out. I know I haven’t been active and I just want to apologize for that. I’ll try to get my act together and get more content out for you guys. Like always, please Comment. It makes my day every time I get a notification that someone commented. It can be over anything and I will love it. Also, please remember to Like any work of mines that you like, so I can get a feel on what type of content you guys like. I’m thinking on a part 2 for this, but I’m not sure, going to base it off how well this do. Thank you guys for everything and helping me continue this passion of writing. You can message me any questions you may have for my OCs or about me. I’m open to any interaction. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you once again.

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to-read-or-not-to-read3088 · 3 years

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70+ disabled, neurodiverse and chronically ill authors COLLAB

This post is in collaboration with several other bloggers whose links are included here:

Artie Carden

Anniek

Hi! It’s been a while since I posted anything, but this post has been a month in the making. I have twenty books by twenty authors for my part in this collaboration, and you can check out the other parts of the collab with the links at the top of the post.

I haven’t read some of these books but almost all of them are on my to be read pile, and I did extensive research to make sure I got this right, but please let me know if there are any mistakes or if anything needs to be corrected.

1. Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

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Meet Cute Diary follows Noah Ramirez who thinks he’s an expert on romance. He must be for his blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem. All the stories are fake. What started off as the fantasies of a trans boy who was afraid to step out of the closet has grown into a beacon of hope for trans readers across the globe. Noah’s world unravels when a troll exposes the blog as fiction, and the only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn’t have any proof. That’s when Drew walks into Noah’s life, and the pieces fall into place. Drew is willing to fake date Noah to save the Diary. But when Noah’s feelings grow beyond their staged romance, he realises that dating in real life isn’t the same as finding love on the page.

The author, Emery Lee, is a kid lit author, artist and YouTuber hailing from a mixed racial background. After graduating with a degree in creative writing, e’s gone on to author novels, short stories and webcomics. When away from reading and writing, you’ll likely find em engaged in art or snuggling with cute dogs.

Emery Lee is nonbinary, and uses e/em pronouns, and e’s debut book, Meet Cute Diary, features a side character who is also nonbinary (and asexual!). Emery is also neurodivergent, and frequently speaks about what its like being a writer with adhd on twitter.

Meet Cute Diary is a book I only discovered last month, when it was published, but I’m excited to read it. It has representation of all kinds, and I love any book that has even a little mention of an asexual character because its so rare to see.

2. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

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At Niveus Private Academy money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because an anonymous texter calling themselves Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. Devon, a talented musician, buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Chiamaka, head girl, isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high school game.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, is the author of the instant New York Times and IndieBound bestseller, Ace of Spades, billed as ‘Get out meets Gossip Girl’. Entertainment Weekly has called it “this summer’s hottest YA debut”. She was born and raised in Croydon, South London, and Faridah moved to the Scottish Highlands for her undergraduate degree where she completed a BA in English Literature. She has established and runs and mentorship scheme for unagented writers of colour, helping them on their journey to get published. Faridah has also written for NME, The Bookseller, Readers Digest and gal-dem.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s book is one that I pre-ordered months in advance, after discovering that I actually really liked this sub-genre of YA, and although I still haven’t read it yet (sorry!), I’m still super excited to dive into it. From what I hear, it has some gay rep, which we all know by now is something I seek out in my books.

3. Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal

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Priya has worked hard to pursue her pre med dreams at Stanford, but a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease during her sophomore year sends her straight back to her loving but overbearing family in New Jersey and leaves her wondering if she’ll ever be able to return to the way things were. Thankfully she has her online pen pal, Brigid, and the rest of the members of “oof ouch my bones,” a virtual support group that meets on Discord to crack jokes and vent about their own chronic illnesses. When Brigid suddenly goes offline, Priya does something very out of character; she steals the family car and drives to Pennsylvania to check on Brigid. Priya isn’t sure what to expect, but it isn’t the creature that’s shut in the basement. With Brigid nowhere in sight, Priya begins to puzzle together an impossible but obvious truth: the creature might be werewolf – and the werewolf might be Brigid. As Brigid’s unique condition worsens, their friendship will be deepened and challenged in unexpected ways, forcing them to reckon with their own ideas of what it means to be normal.

Kristen O’Neal is a freelance writer who’s written for sites like Buzzfeed Reader, Christianity Today, Birth.Movies.Death, LitHub and Electric Literature. She writes about faith, culture, and unexplained phenomena. Her debut novel, Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses is based on her own experiences with being chronically ill. Kristen has two autoimmune disorders and “a number of other problems and issues” with her body. According to her website, she is doing much better than she used to, but still has flares somewhat regularly.

I cannot describe the feeling of seeing a published book with the best group chat name I have ever seen. Oof ouch my bones is absolutely something that I would be part of if it really existed, because its just such a mood, and funny at the same time. I pre ordered this book too, but like all the others, I still haven’t gotten around to reading it. I’m super excited about it though and cannot recommend it enough.

4. Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

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Will Tavares is the dream summer fling – he’s fun, affectionate, kind – but just when Ollie thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After, summer vacation ends, and Will stops texting Ollie back. Now Ollie is one prince short of his fairy tale ending, and to complicate the fairy tale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country. Which he minds a little less when he realises it’s the same school Will goes to…except Ollie finds out that the sweet, comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted – and to be honest, a jerk. Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn’t ready for a relationship, especially since this new, bro-y jock version of Will seems to go from hot to cold every other week. But then Will starts “coincidentally” popping up in every area of Ollie’s life, from music class to the lunch table, and Ollie finds his resolve weakening. The last time he gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again. Right? Right.

Sophie Gonzales was born and raised in Whyalla, South Australia, where the Outback Meets the Sea. She now lives in Melbourne, where there’s no outback in sight. Sophie’s been writing since the age of five, when her mother decided to help her type out one of the stories she had come up with in the bathtub. They ran into artistic differences when five-year-old Sophie insisted that everybody die in the end, while her mother wanted the characters to simply go out for a milkshake. Since then, Sophie has been completing her novels without a transcript. Sophie Gonzales tweets about her experiences with ADHD on her twitter.

Only mostly devasted is one of the few books on this list that I’ve read. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down, which is weird because I normally don’t read contemporary at all. I have recommended this book to literally everyone I know, and even bought my best friend a copy to convince her to read it.

5. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones

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Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family, and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meagre existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead. The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good? Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

Emily Lloyd-Jones grew up on a vineyard in rural Oregon, where she played in evergreen forests and learned to fear sheep. After graduating from Western Oregon University with an English degree, she enrolled in the publishing program at Rosemont College just outside of Philadelphia. She currently resides in Northern California.

Another book on my to be read pile that I’m super excited to read, but still haven’t gotten around to. This one features disability rep, but because I haven’t read it, I don’t know much more, sorry guys.

6. Mooncakes by Susanne Walker and Wendy Xu

📷Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

Suzanne Walker is a Chicago-based writer and editor. She is co-creator of the Hugo-nominated graphic novel Mooncakes (2019, Lion Forge/Oni Press). Her short fiction has been published in Clarkesworld and Uncanny Magazine, and she has published nonfiction articles with Uncanny Magazine, StarTrek.com, Women Write About Comics, and the anthology Barriers and Belonging: Personal Narratives of Disability. She has spoken at numerous conventions on a variety of topics ranging from disability representation in sci-fi/fantasy to comics collaboration.

Wendy Xu is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and comics artist. She is co-creator of and currently draws the webcomic Mooncakes. Her work has been featured on Tor.com, as part of the Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion exhibit permanently housed at the Chinese Historical Society of America, and in Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology. She occasionally teaches at the Asian American Writers Workshop and currently works as an assistant editor curating young adult and children’s books.

Suzanne Walker suffers from hearing loss, something that she wrote into her graphic novel, Mooncakes, making Nova hard of hearing. I read this in a few years ago as an advance reader copy for Netgalley and it was honestly one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. The main characters are Chinese American, queer AND magic, which is an amazing combination of representation.

7. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone… A convict with a thirst for revenge A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager A runaway with a privileged past A spy known as the Wraith A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars—with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019) which is being developed for television by Amazon Studios.

Leigh grew up in Southern California and graduated from Yale University. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles.

In the acknowledgements section of Six of Crows, Bardugo reveals she suffers from osteonecrosis and sometimes needs to use a cane; this was a source of inspiration for one of the story's six protagonists, master thief and gang boss Kaz Brekker, who uses a cane.

I read Six of Crows a few years ago and I really loved it. I’m not going to pretend I managed to finish the whole Grishaverse series, because I haven’t even gotten close yet, but it really showed Kaz’s struggles with his disability, and his mental health. This is part of a duology, and the duology is part of a large series of books with another duology and trilogy, but Six of Crows can be read without reading the others.

8. Hyperbole and A Half by Allie Brosh

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This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So, I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

Allie is an American blogger, writer and comic artist best known for her blog in the form of a webcomic Hyperbole and a Half. Brosh started Hyperbole in 2009 and told stories from her life in a mix of text and intentionally crude illustrations. She has published two books telling stories in the same style, both of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Brosh lives with severe depression and ADHD, and her comics on depression have won praise from fans and mental health professionals.

Another book on my tbr that I just haven’t gotten around to but really want to.

9. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

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What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just must find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions...

Patrick Ness, an award-winning novelist, has written for England’s Radio 4 and Sunday Telegraph and is a literary critic for The Guardian. He has written many books, including the Chaos Walking Trilogy, The Crash of Hennington, Topics About Which I Know Nothing, and A Monster Calls. He has won numerous awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. Born in Virginia, he currently lives in London.

Patrick Ness has written about OCD and anxiety in at least two of his books, inspired by his own experiences with the two disorders and how it affects him (The Rest of Us Just Live Here & Release)

10. Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

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Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children No Solicitations No Visitors No Quests Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter. No matter the cost.

Seanan lives in an idiosyncratically designed labyrinth in the Pacific Northwest, which she shares with her cats, Alice and Thomas, a vast collection of creepy dolls and horror movies, and sufficient books to qualify her as a fire hazard. She has strongly held and oft-expressed beliefs about the origins of the Black Death, the X-Men, and the need for chainsaws in daily life.

Years of writing blurbs for convention program books have fixed Seanan in the habit of writing all her bios in the third person, to sound marginally less dorky. Stress is on the "marginally." It probably doesn't help that she has so many hobbies.

Seanan was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and her novel Feed (as Mira Grant) was named as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2010. In 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo Ballot.

Seanan McGuire has an invisible disability due to herniated disks in her spine. She is slowly coming to terms with this, and talks about it occasionally on her twitter, and about the struggles she faces.

I loved this book, and so did my best friend. We both read it in one sitting and talked nonstop about it afterwards. Although short, its filled with amazing characters, plot, and representation (asexual character!!)

11. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honour they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead 📷of paper, she's made of fire. In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumoured beauty has piqued the king's interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

Natasha Ngan is a writer and yoga teacher. She grew up between Malaysia, where the Chinese side of her family is from, and the UK. This multicultural upbringing continues to influence her writing, and she is passionate about bringing diverse stories to teens. Ngan studied Geography at the University of Cambridge before working as a social media consultant and fashion blogger. She lives in France with her partner, where they recently moved from Paris to be closer to the sea. Her novel Girls of Paper and Fire was a New York Times bestseller. Natasha has a heart condition, and talks about her struggles with her health, and gives updates on her health and her books on twitter.

I’ve heard a lot about this book, but for trigger warning reasons it sadly isn’t on my to be read list. Everything I’ve heard about it says its an amazing book though, and the cover is beautiful.

12. Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

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Three friends, two love stories, one convention: this fun, feminist love letter to geek culture is all about fandom, friendship, and finding the courage to be yourself. Charlie likes to stand out. She’s a vlogger and actress promoting her first movie at SupaCon, and this is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star Reese Ryan. When internet-famous cool-girl actress Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought. Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with her best guy friend Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about a fan contest for her favourite fandom, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.

Jen Wilde is the YA author of QUEENS OF GEEK, THE BRIGHTSIDERS and GOING OFF SCRIPT. She writes unapologetically queer stories about geeks, rockstars, and fangirls who smash the patriarchy in their own unique ways. Her books have been praised in Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Autostraddle, Vulture and Bustle. Originally from Australia, Jen now lives in NYC where she spends her time writing, drinking too much coffee and binging reality TV.

Researching for this collab was the first time this book popped up on my radar as something I might be interested in reading. Jen Wilde, the author, is herself autistic and suffers from anxiety, which gives the narrative “authenticity that is lacking in similar books” according to socialjusticebooks.org.

13. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

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Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So, she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful. Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. There’s only one problem: Molly’s co-worker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

Becky Albertalli is the author of the acclaimed novels Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (film: Love, Simon), The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat. She is also the co-author of What If It's Us with Adam Silvera. A former clinical psychologist who specialized in working with children and teens, Becky lives with her family in Atlanta.

Becky Albertalli has generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), and has spoken about it in several interviews, which you can find online. She has also written several characters in her books who also suffer with anxiety. Her first book, Simon vs the Homosapien’s Agenda (or Love, Simon), is the only book of hers that I have read so far, and I loved it. It was the first contemporary book that I read and actually enjoyed.

14. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

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Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s current gift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows. Akos is the son of a farmer and an oracle from the frozen nation-planet of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. Then Akos is thrust into Cyra's world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?

Veronica Roth is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Divergent series (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant, and Four: A Divergent Collection), the Carve the Mark duology (Carve the Mark, the Fates Divide), The End and Other Beginnings collection of short fiction, and many short stories and essays. Her first book for adult audiences, Chosen Ones, is out now. She lives in Chicago.

Veronica Roth suffers from anxiety, like a lot of the authors on this list, and talks about it in interviews. A quote from one: "I've had an anxiety disorder my whole life, so I've been to therapy on and off throughout, before books and after books. I went back and tried to talk through some of the things I was feeling and experiencing, and it was helpful."

I’ve never read any of her books, not even the hugely famous Divergent trilogy, though they’ve been on my radar for years. I’d love to get into her books at some point, but it might take me a few years.

15. How to be Autistic by Charlotte Amelia Poe

📷An urgent, funny, shocking, and impassioned memoir by the winner of the Spectrum Art Prize 2018, How To Be Autistic by Charlotte Amelia Poe presents the rarely shown point of view of someone living with autism. Poe’s voice is confident, moving and often funny, as they reveal to us a very personal account of autism, mental illness, gender and sexual identity. As we follow Charlotte’s journey through school and college, we become as awestruck by their extraordinary passion for life as by the enormous privations that they must undergo to live it. From food and fandom to body modification and comic conventions, Charlotte’s experiences through the torments of schooldays and young adulthood leave us with a riot of conflicting emotions: horror, empathy, despair, laugh-out-loud amusement and, most of all, respect. For Charlotte, autism is a fundamental aspect of their identity and art. They address the reader in a voice that is direct, sharply clever and ironic. They witness their own behaviour with a wry humour as they sympathise with those who care for them, yet all the while challenging the neurotypical narratives of autism as something to be ‘fixed’. This is an exuberant, inspiring, life-changing insight into autism from a viewpoint almost entirely missing from public discussion. ‘I wanted to show the side of autism that you don’t find in books and on Facebook. My story is about survival, fear and, finally, hope. There will be parts that make you want to cover your eyes, but I beg you to read on, because if I can change just one person’s perceptions, if I can help one person with autism feel like they’re less alone, then this will all be worth it.’ Charlotte Amelia Poe is a self-taught artist and writer living in Lowestoft, Suffolk. They also work with video and won the inaugural Spectrum Art Prize with the film they submitted, 'How to Be Autistic’. Myriad published Charlotte's memoir, How to Be Autistic, in September 2019.

Another book I didn’t know about until researching for this post, but I really want to read it because I haven’t read many books about autism, and practically none of them were actually written by someone who actually is autistic. Charlotte uses they/them pronouns.

16. Ask me about my Uterus by Abby Norman

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For any woman who has experienced illness, chronic pain, or endometriosis comes an inspiring memoir advocating for recognition of women's health issues In the fall of 2010, Abby Norman's strong dancer's body dropped forty pounds and grey hairs began to sprout from her temples. She was repeatedly hospitalized in excruciating pain, but the doctors insisted it was a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics. Unable to get out of bed, much less attend class, Norman dropped out of college and embarked on what would become a years-long journey to discover what was wrong with her. It wasn't until she took matters into her own hands--securing a job in a hospital and educating herself over lunchtime reading in the medical library--that she found an accurate diagnosis of endometriosis. In Ask Me About My Uterus, Norman describes what it was like to have her pain dismissed, to be told it was all in her head, only to be taken seriously when she was accompanied by a boyfriend who confirmed that her sexual performance was, indeed, compromised. Putting her own trials into a broader historical, sociocultural, and political context, Norman shows that women's bodies have long been the battleground of a never-ending war for power, control, medical knowledge, and truth. It's time to refute the belief that being a woman is a pre-existing condition.

Abby Norman’s debut book, ASK ME ABOUT MY UTERUS: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women’s Pain, was published by Bold Type Books (Hachette Book Group) in 2018, with advance praise from Gillian Anderson, Lindsey Fitzharris, Jenny Lawson, and Padma Lakshmi.

The book was praised by The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Sunday Times, The Irish Times, Literary Review, The Times Literary Supplement, The New Republic, Book Riot, Toronto Star, ELLE, Health Magazine, Undark Magazine, BUST Magazine, Bitch Magazine, Ms. Magazine, BBC Radio 5, and other international media outlets.

In 2019, the paperback edition was published in the U.S. and the Korean translation in Seoul (Momento Publishing/Duran Kim Agency).

Her work has been featured in Harper’s, Medium, The Independent, Literary Hub, The Rumpus, Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and elsewhere. Interviews and profiles have been seen and heard, including NPR/WNYC, BBC, Anchor.fm, The New York Times, Playboy, Forbes, Glamour, Women’s Health, and Bitch Magazine.

Abby Norman suffers from endometriosis, which was a large part of why she wrote her book, and why she advocates so hard for fellow patients at conferences such as Stanford University’s Stanford Medicine X and the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s medical conference and Patient Day. She is

Abby has served on technical expert panels including the National Partnership for Women and Families’ CORE Network (Yale University), the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid, The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), and Health Affairs.

In 2019, Abby contributed to a paper addressing research gaps and unmet needs in endometriosis published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

This book is definitely one I will be adding to my to be read list, as someone who (unfortunately) also has a uterus, it is important to be informed. And Abby sounds like such a badass who wrote a whole book about her chronic illness to help others with the same condition.

17. Stim: Autistic Anthology by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

📷

Around one in one hundred people in the UK are autistic, yet there remains a fundamental misunderstanding of what autism is. It is rare that autistic people get to share their own experiences, show how creative and talented and passionate they are, how different they are from media stereotypes. This insightful and eye-opening collection of essays, fiction and visual art showcases the immense talents of some of the UK's most exciting writers and artists - who just happen to be on the spectrum. Here they reclaim the power to speak for themselves and redefine what it means to be autistic. Stim invites the reader into the lives, experiences, minds of the eighteen contributors, and asks them to recognise the hurdles of being autistic in a non-autistic world and to uncover the empathy and understanding necessary to continue to champion brilliant yet unheard voices.

Lizzie (Hux) Huxley-Jones is an autistic author and editor based in London. They are the editor of Stim, an anthology of autistic authors and artists, which was published by Unbound in April 2020 to coincide with World Autism Awareness Week. They are also the author of the children’s biography Sir David Attenborough: A Life Story. They can be found editing at independent micropublisher 3 of Cups Press, and they also advise writers as a freelance sensitivity reader and consultant. In their past career lives, they have been a research diver, a children’s bookseller and digital communications specialist.

I wasn’t even aware that there was an anthology out there by an autistic author, about autism, but now that I do I need to read it.

18. Chimera by Jaecyn Bonê

📷

Creatures unlike you've imagined before! Welcome to a world where myths and legends collide to create a new breed of monster. Savage and soulful, these monstrosities combine to form the mighty Chimera. In this anthology, talented writers weave 10 tales of fantastical beasts. Featuring stories by: Matt Bliss Jaecyn Boné Alexis L. Carroll Chris Durston Dewi Hargreaves Stephen Howard Samuel Logan Vincent Metzo Braden Rohl Michelle Tang

Jaecyn is a queer, non-binary, disabled Asian-American writer and digital artist fascinated by faeries.

Most of their writing involves wlw romance and faery-inspired creatures. Their first novel, Farzana's Spite is a 10-year-old work in progress and the first novel in The Faerth series. Other works include The Killing Song (novel) and Colour Unknown (short), both of which are also part of the Faerth universe.

Jaecyn's art can be described as a neorealistic pop art style with cel shading. They began their digital art journey with a 5-year-old refurbished iPad using their finger as a stylus and immediately fell in love. They do digital download commissions as well as sell prints of their artwork.

Jaecyn is the Co-Editor in Chief of the Limeoncello Magazine, an online Own Voices literary magazine which debuted its first issue on March 21st, 2021.

When not writing, drawing, or chasing after their two children, they can be found either gardening or practicing their ukulele.

None of Jaecyn Boné’s books are published yet as they are still in the stage of querying, but they contributed to the above anthology, along with nine other authors. I had no idea that this anthology existed, and now I’ll be closely following this author to see when their books get published!

19. Forest of Souls by Lori M Lee

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack 📷and kill her best friend Saengo. And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life. Unveiled as the first soul guide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soul guide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for.

Lori M. Lee is the author of speculative novels and short stories. Her books include PAHUA AND THE SOUL STEALER (Disney/Rick Riordan Presents), FOREST OF SOULS and the sequel BROKEN WEB (Page Street), and more. She’s also a contributor to the anthologies A THOUSAND BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS and COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES. She considers herself a unicorn fan, enjoys marathoning TV shows, and loves to write about magic, manipulation, and family.

Lori struggles with anxiety, and the common symptoms like fatigue but she doesn’t let this stop her writing amazing books. I read Forest of Souls earlier this year, and it was seriously one of the best books I’ve ever read. I loved the magic, the characters, the world building. Everything about it, including the plot twist ending that had me losing my mind at 2am, was just so unlike anything I had read in any other fantasy before.

20. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A Brown

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For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition. When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

Roseanne “Rosie” A. Brown was born in Kumasi, Ghana and immigrated to the wild jungles of central Maryland as a child. Writing was her first love, and she knew from a young age that she wanted to use the power of writing—creative and otherwise—to connect the different cultures she called home. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and was also a teaching assistant for the school’s Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House program. Her journalistic work has been featured by Voice of America among other outlets.

On the publishing side of things, she has worked as an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing. Rosie was a 2017 Pitch Wars mentee and 2018 Pitch Wars mentor. Rosie currently lives outside Washington D.C., where in her free time she can usually be found wandering the woods, making memes, or thinking about Star Wars.

Roseanne is another author that struggles with anxiety and wrote one of her two main characters with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), despite it being a fantasy. I don’t even think I can name a fantasy that had a character with anxiety represented so well. This was a book I read around the same time as Forest of Souls, and I loved it. The cover was beautiful, the characters were brilliant, and I just loved the world building, the magic, and the plot. It was just different to the usual fantasy books I read, and I enjoyed the variation so much I’ve had the sequel pre ordered almost a year in advance.

So, this was my 20 books by 20 chronically ill, disabled or neurodiverse authors list. Blurbs and synopsis were compiled between Goodreads and author websites, and bios were found either on Goodreads, author websites or on amazon author pages. All the information about their chronic illnesses, disabilities or neurodivergence was found online, where they had either explicitly said it or written about it, but if I have something wrong, please let me know so I can fix it!

If you have any other suggestions or know any other books and authors that should be on this list, please let me know and I’ll do my best to add it to the list as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading 😊

#bookblr #reviews #recs #books

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crimsonbluemoon · 4 years

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6, 3, 7 H2OVanoss! You know me heh ( •ॢᴗ•ॢ⋈)

Ahhh Owlbun! So I hope this fits the perimeters of a cute-meet cause I don’t know if it does but I think it does? Idk, its cute, please enjoy this mess of a story. >.> It’s a diff style than I normally do, but….hope it works out!

AU: Coffee shopTrope: Meet cutePrompt: “You had no idea, did you?”

Pairing: H2O Vanoss

If Evan was being honest, he hadn’t expected the chalkboard wall at his coffee shop to make much of a difference. The Owl Cafe was a staple in the community, and he had an okay group of regulars that liked to come in and check out his new blends on the daily. There were ones he knew by name, like the 6 year old girl Momo who loved Brian’s hot chocolate, or the late-night writer Kryoz who always seemed to appear when the place was deserted. Some regulars he didn’t catch names for, so he titled them as he saw fit; Runner man, vlogger teen, cute sweatshirt guy. All had their place in his cafe, which was steady in its sales. He wasn’t rolling in cash, but it was enough to pay Brock and Brian, so he felt that he was doing alright.

The chalkboard had been something of a whim. A friend when he was younger had a wall in his bedroom with chalkboard paint that Evan had always enjoyed drawing on before bed. When he’d bought the cafe two years ago, he hadn’t really remembered the fun times he had scribbling across the bedroom wall. He was too focused on payments and attracting customers to stroll down memory lane. That had changed three months ago when bumping into Lui, the two speaking about their times as a child. The wall came up, of course, and Evan couldn’t let the memory go for days after. Lots of his customers had children, and college kids were always quick to bore when waiting for coffee. So one night, after a really good week at the shop, Evan went out and bought the paint in order to make his wall next to the waiting area a drawing board.

The result was amazing; people loved coming by and adding their own doodles to the wall, filling it with different styles of art or funny sayings. There were always the punks who tried to draw dicks or write derogatory marks, but street justice tended to stop the crimes far quicker than Evan or his friends picked up on them. Evan enjoyed looking at the board at the end of the night, seeing what secrets it held from the customers he served. He tried to guess who drew what, or where each blurb of inspiration writing came from. Was the struggling mother of three the one who drew the calm beach? Did the preppy college girl express her darker thoughts in the corner of the board? Or was that old couple who shared a coffee really sweet enough to write their 70th anniversary with a heart around it? All of the pieces of the board was a collection of minds, hearts, and souls, and the nights didn’t feel complete for the shop owner without gazing at them in appreciation.

His favorite part was the confessions; like an anonymous message board, people left words of secrecy every day. Evan felt it was a safe way for customers to express themselves without having to reveal their identity, and so far he hadn’t gotten any confessions that worried him. Brock always enjoyed reading the romantic ones where someone would claim their love for a friend, an ex, or a person they could never have. Brian’s favorites were the weird claims; he made Evan keep the ‘I like smelling feet’ confession up for three days. Evan couldn’t really say he had a type he sought out, because all of them were fun to read. If anything, he liked taking in the handwriting of the confessions, seeing whose were quaking with fear or more broad with confidence that only anonymity provided.

It was nearly two months into owning the board that a message caught his eye; it didn’t have much color or outlandish design to it, so Evan wasn’t sure why it stuck out to him so much. But the writing just…looked different. Friendly. A little messy but with long enough strokes to show some care went into it. The words only took up a small part of the board.

I come here every day because I think the owner is nice. And maybe cute? I wanted to ask for his name, but I’m too nervous.

Evan blinked in surprise, feeling his face heat up when he read it again. Someone…confessed about him? It was sort of risky, since this was his shop and he could have checked in on the board at any time, but it was also endearing. Someone was too shy to approach Evan, but felt strong enough about him to confess on his wall? He read the line two more times while he cleaned off every other drawing and confession, leaving the words in the middle of the board. Slowly, his eyes dropped down to the basket of chalk at the bottom of the wall, fingers twitching by his side. Despite having it for months, he’d never actually written on it. He left designing the morning greeting to Brock, as he was the artistic one of the three. But now…

He kept the confession where it was, drawing a little circle around it with the red chalk. Then, with block letters bright enough to catch any returning customer’s attention, he wrote out a simple reply.

It’s Evan. Nice to meet you.

He didn’t think about the teasing Brian would rain on him, or how unlikely it was for him to get a response. The confessions were meant to be anonymous, not openers for conversation. So sure that his words would be left unanswered, Evan didn’t look once at the board the following day, trying to keep focused on making his customer’s happy. Any time he wasn’t working, he rushed into the back, trying to stay occupied so he didn’t stare at the wall. The day dragged on forever, but when the final customer was out the door, Evan nearly fell flat on his face vaulting over the counter to move to the board.

“Desperate much, buddy?” Brian’s shout from across the shop went ignored when Evan scanned the wall, looking for any sign of a response. At first, the words around the response were disheartening; nothing connected to what he’d said. The drawings were still cute, and he wanted to read the confessions, but his heart slightly dropped at the sight. Had he scared off the anonymous messenger? He felt his frown start to capture his lips, but then his eye picked up on something. A blue circle had been wrapped around Evan’s words, and a line of chalk was drawn to the left of the board. Curious, his eyes tracked the line. Like thread in a maze, Evan was led to a familiar handwriting.

Your name fits you! I’m…Jonathan. Is that okay?

“Jonathan.” He rolled the name around in his mouth, his smile small when he finished. He knew instantly what his new secret penpal was asking, and he found the red chalk from before in order to scribble out his answer.

That’s totally okay. I bet your name fits you, too, though I’m not sure who you are. Care to give me a hint?

And for the next two weeks, the hints poured out.

I like to wear blue a lot. Luke says it matches my eyes. But I think yours are prettier.

Evan counted seventy three customers with blue eyes who wore blue that day, but it did little to limit his search.

I saw you drop that lady’s coffee on purpose. She deserved it for treating Brock like that. You’re a really good boss.

The incident had been in the morning around rush hour, which probably meant his penpal was at least his age.

You only wear hats when you clean the mocha machine; it really looks good on you.

Except this was something he did at night, so maybe he had different shifts throughout the week?

Whenever little Momo comes in, you always give her the best smile. Sometimes I wish you’d smile at me like that.

Evan’s face hurt from how many smiles he gave out that day, but there had been nobody who hinted at knowing why he’d been grinning so much.

You’re so beautiful. I really want to ask you on a date.

Evan’s face flush red for the rest of the night.

After the days of trying to piece together just who ‘Jonathan’ was, Evan was almost ready to throw in the towel. The little banter between them was fun, and peeks of Jonathan’s personality came out with doodles or smilies at the end of his sentences. He mentioned his friends, his dog, and if Evan closed his eyes, he could almost make out a voice to the words. Everything just felt so familiar about this guy, like he was already seated comfortably in Evan’s life. But he just couldn’t come up with a name, or anything to sink his teeth into.

So, with a shot of courage (Brian may have supplied the alcohol) and nothing to lose, Evan wrote out one final message.

Anything but coffee, and I’ll say yes.

Evan tried not to look at the board, just like the first day, hoping he wouldn’t scare away his crush by staring the wall down. Brock and Brian helped distract him, jokingly picking out old men and toddlers as ‘his secret admirer’ before laughing at the outlandish suggestions. Evan tried to smile and joke with them, but his shaking hands when giving out the orders always proved how nervous he was. Each time a customer came up to him, his back tensed, wondering if it’d be his penpal. But they never were, always asking for sugar or a bag for their half eaten muffin.

When the last minutes of the day ticked away, and just a few regular souls lingered in the cafe, Evan finally broke. He left Brian and Brock behind the counter to walk up to the wall, hands shoved in the pockets of the apron to hide his twitching fingers. Slowly, his eyes scanned the board, trying to find the blue handwriting he’d grown to adore over the couple weeks he’d gotten to see it. But there was nothing; his crush hadn’t replied.

“I scared him away.” Evan sighed and pressed his head to the chalkboard, eyes closing in defeat. His shoulders slumped down, unable to hide his disappointment. He’d just wanted to know who this guy was, because starting to fall for a chalkboard he technically owned was starting to feel a little creepy-

“Um.” An unsure voice made Evan bite back a groan, trying to keep his composure. Even if he was being ghosted by an anonymous customer, it didn’t mean he could ignore his other ones. Pulling back from the wall, Evan turned to catch sight of a familiar face. Cute sweatshirt guy had been a regular for months, always polite but never one to really engage in much conversation with Evan or the others. He always contributed it to the slight stutter in his speech, which only seemed to come out in longer sentences. It was actually kind of late for cute sweatshirt guy to be at the cafe; he’d bought his coffee close to an hour ago, and though he normally left right after, he’d seemed to linger now. He’d been one of the people who’d come up to Evan, looking like he was going to burst out in a confession, only to ask for creamer.

And sugar.

And a new cup.

…And more creamer.

For a coffee he always drank black.

“Wait.” Evan’s breath hitched in his throat as his eyes widened on the blue gaze nervously watching him, fingers curled into the worn down sweatshirt that was identical in color.

“Yeah, I’m-that was me. Jonathan. Who you were-I’m the guy tha–that, um, fuck. Luke said I should’ve just-but the wall was…was our thing.” Jonathan’s face lit up in color at the confession, the nervous laugh that poured out loud and uncontrolled. It echoed from the emptiness of the cafe, and both men jumped when Brian swore and knocked over a stack of cups in surprise. Tagging that as future Evan’s problem, he turned his attention back to Jonathan, who looked ready to let his sweatshirt swallow him whole. The smile he gave only lifted half his mouth, proving he didn’t feel confident. “You had no idea, did you?”

“None,” Evan admitted, hands pulling out of his apron at the defeated look that sunk over Jonathan.

“Right, that’s- I don’t have to ask you on a date if this isn’t what you…if I’m not who you-”

“Ask me!” Evan cut him off fast, not wanting to let Jonathan feel rejected for a second longer. He rushed forward, snagging hands that tugged the end of torn sleeves to entwine their fingers. Blue eyes widened above him, but Evan refused to let his racing heart of reddened cheeks stop him from repeating his confession from before. “Anything but coffee, and I’ll say yes.”

“Dinner? Can I-would you like to get food with me tomorrow?” Like a puppy, Jonathan’s body perked up at the possibility. Evan laughed before lifting their hands to cup Jonathan’s cheeks. He pushed up onto his toes, feeling the slight intake of his customer’s breath before he answered with a kiss.

But just to be safe, he wrote ‘yes’ on the chalkboard the next morning.

#kihoori #H2O Vanoss #H2O Delirious #VanossGaming #OTP boys #<3 #Crimson drabblez

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hex6rcist · 4 years

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can i request a biker jin and a shyer but still badass reader? like they met at a bar and they exchanged numbers and he invites her over to ride his motorcycle around the city?

Ahhh this ask is soooo cute. I’m not 100% happy with this but I hope you enjoy it. <3 Lots of fluffy cuteness ahead. This ended up being kinda long so I threw in a lil read more as to not murder anyone’s dash.

w/c: 2,600+

Jin slipped into the smoky bar a hand raking through his hair as he looked for a spot. It wasn’t terribly busy for a Friday night but it didn’t look like he’d have the luxury of sitting alone. He eyed up each patron who had an empty seat next to them trying to decide who he’d care to deal with. Finally he decided to sit next to a pretty girl at the end of the bar who seemed more interested in her drink than bothering anyone else. He slipped into the spot next to you silently. You spared him a shy glance tucking a strand of hair behind your ear before returning your gaze to the beer in front of you. Delicate fingers played idly with the tab of your can, further chipping away at your nail polish. Without his mask Jin had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from making any kind of inappropriate comment that floated through his mind to you. Instead he focused on flagging down the bartender and ordering a drink. He didn’t like spending too much time in the bar, preferring to drink alone at his motel, but today had been particularly stressful and he didn’t think he could make it all the way home without losing it. His scar throbbed uncomfortably as if in agreement. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and tried to ease the ache while he waited on his beer. Next to him you shift in your seat to dig thorough your over stuffed messenger bag. Finally you pulled out a small packet that contained 2 aspirin before straightening up. Unsure on how to go about this you simply decided to slide them over next to his free hand just as his drink arrived. Jin glanced between you and the small packet. “Uh, you looked like you could use it...” you explained quietly. Jin couldn’t help but stare at you like an idiot, mouth opening and closing. He wanted to say something, thank you, but what if he said something awful? Finally his hand rested over the packet and he pulled it towards himself. “Thanks. I appreciate-” “I don’t need your drugs, lady!” Jin’s loud outburst drew some looks down their end of the bar. Your whole face flushed with surprise and embarrassment and your eyed dropped back down to your drink. “N-No sorry! I didn’t mean that. I ugh...” He gripped his head, choking back more unwanted words. Today was really not his day. You gripped your can a bit tighter, denting it with your fingers slightly before letting the dents pop back out, a nervous habit. “I-It’s okay. Just caught me off guard.” You still gave him a little smile. Jin couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Yeah, me too.” “Nothing surprises me.” You quirked an eyebrow and leaned in a little. ‘“You’re kinda weird, dude.” You’d said it like it was just a secret between the two of you but Jin knew that it was obvious to anyone who’d ever met him. He looked down and tore open the little packet to dump the medicine in his hand. “I’m totally normal!” “You’re telling me.” He downed the pills with his beer. “Well, it’s better to be weird than boring.” You took a long drink from your own can before denting the sides in and sliding it to the end of the bar to signal that you were ready for another. Jin finally turned his head to really look at his new companion. He’d realized when he first looked at you from across the room that you were pretty, but up close he thought you were more than that. You were beautiful. He admired the slope of your nose and the tilt of your lips as you smiled at the bartender who’d brought you a new drink. He didn’t realize he’d been staring until your bright e/c eyes locked with his. Jin could feel his cheeks warming and was glad to see your’s were too at least. His eyes darted away from your’s and focused on the motorcycle helmet that had been sitting next to you on the bar. It was worn and covered in stickers, a sure sign that you’d had it for a while. your gaze followed his and you set a hand on top of your helmet. “You uh, you ride at all?” He nodded, “Yeah I do actually.”

With an easy opening Jin actually found it pretty easy to talk to you. He thought you were sweet and receptive, not at all judgmental about his tic or his ideas. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed when the bar closed and you both had to leave. He hadn’t even realized he had been there that long. You made hours feel like just a few minutes to him. He walked you out to your bike, a V7 III Stone in all black that he though suited you well. Before you got on you tucked your helmet under your arm and reached into your bag to pull out a sharpie. Pulling the cap off with your teeth you mustered all your confidence and tentatively took Jin’s hand in your own to write out your phone number on his palm. He felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. Was this real? You looked up at him through your lashes as you recapped the marker. “Uhm, call me? Ya know, if you want.” “I definitely will.” “Don’t hold your breath.” You were already catching on to his odd little habit so you paid it no mind. With a little wave you got on your bike and rode off, leaving Jin to stare down at his marked palm, heart fluttering.

The next day Jin spent most of the morning pacing around his apartment trying to figure out what to do next. You’d made the first move and now it was his turn to be brave. Jin decided he’d text you, leaving more room for him to convey what he wanted to say without any mess ups. But what the hell did he say? He felt like a teenage boy, agonizing over what to text his crush. Voices bounced around in his head, each one making a worse suggestion than the last. ‘Play it cool, just say what’s up bitch?’ ‘No absolutely not.’ ‘Okay, okay how about we just show her what’s up and send her a dick pic.’ “Ugh! No! Shut up!” Jin threw his phone onto his bed before collapsing on it himself. ‘Maybe we should just call her.’ Finally a good idea. ‘Are you gonna keep quiet?’ ‘I’m a free man! I can say what I want!’ Despite himself Jin picked up his phone and hit the call button. It rang a few times before your voice came on the other end. “Hello?” “Hey, y/n! It’s uh, it’s Jin, from the other night.” “This is a call about your car’s extended warranty don’t hang up!” Jin was inches from slamming his head into a wall but the sound of your cute giggles stopped him from committing. “Hey, I’m glad you called. I-I had fun with you last night.” “We can have fun tonight too.” His hand came up to cover his mouth. God maybe this was a mistake. “I-I mean- What I mean is I was wondering if you’d want to come for a ride with me tonight. I can pick you up and maybe we can get some food?” If only Jin could have seen your smile on the other end, or the way you bounced on the balls of your feet in excitement his heart would have melted. “I’d really like that! I’m free around 6 if that works for you?” “6 is perfect.” “Aw I can’t see you sooner?” Jin bit the inside of his cheek when he heard you huff out another little giggle. “6 it is. I’ll text you my address.” “Sounds good. I’ll see you later then.” He combed his fingers through his hair with a little smile. “See ya later!”

When you were off the phone Jin let out a deep breath. He didn’t know how but he’d pulled it off. He had a date tonight with a beautiful girl he met at the bar. In a rare moment Jin felt really normal. Just a regular guy going on a date. What a life. He had to text Toga about this.

That night Jin made sure to be exactly on time and he’d stopped to get you some flowers along the way, Toga’s suggestion. Jin also knew just the right route to bring you on. It wasn’t so stop and go, it had a nice view of the city and the beach, and at the end it lead right to his favorite food spot. It’d be a perfect ride. He parked his bike out front and anxiously sat outside your door for a few moments before he worked up the courage to knock. When you answered he was once again taken aback by just how damn good you looked. “Hey! I got you these.” He held out the simple bouquet he’d admittedly got from the gas station down the street. You gladly accepted them your cheeks tinting. You really hadn’t expected such a sweet gesture. “You wanna come in for a minute? I just gotta feed my dog and put on my boots, besides I want to get these in water.” You motioned to the flowers before standing aside to let him in. He took slow nervous steps into your home and took off his own boots while you moved to find a vase for your flowers. A task that might not be hard for you he realized as he took in all the little plants that lined your windows. When he walked further into the apartment he was greeted with a cheery bark. He looked over as a large Akita hopped off the couch and ran up to greet him, tail wagging. He reared up on his back paws, front paws finding purchase on Jin’s shoulders. He laughed graciously and scratched the pup behind the ear. The dog’s tongue lolled out before licking Jin’s face. “Kenshin! Down!” You ran into the room to grab your dog, Kenshin, by the collar and pull him down off of Jin. “I’m sorry, he’s super friendly. He just forgets his manners when there’s new people around.” ‘Don’t worry about it, he’s real sweat.” “He’s a beast!” You couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh at that. “He’s both. C’mon boy. Let’s get you dinner.” The large dog bounded after you and into the kitchen skidding to a halt at it’s bowl. Jin watched with a smile as you filled up his bowl with a large serving of dog food and cooed at him to be good while you were gone. As if he thought he couldn’t like you more. Finally you made your way back over to Jin “Sorry about that, thanks for waiting.” “No problem.” “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Jin didn’t often ride with anyone else on his bike so he made a solid effort to be a lot more careful than he’d normally be. Though he struggled not to get distracted (and a little turned on) by your chest pressed against his back and your arms wrapped securely around his waist. And fuck did he love hearing your voice right in his ear. For once it felt like everything was going just right for him. You even reached the beach just in time to watch the sun set over the horizon. He couldn’t imagine a more prefect date than this. But of course Jin’s luck never held out that long. When you arrived at the restaurant Jin was surprised to find them closed, a handwritten sign in the window saying they had a plumbing problem that needed fixing and would be closed for the next few days. “Shit, I’m sorry. I dragged you all the way out here.” “I knew they’d be closed.” He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. You reached up to take his hand in your own and pull it away from his neck with a little smile. “That’s okay we aren’t too far away from the beach and I think the Yatai over there stay open kinda late. Maybe we can grab some ramen?” Jin let his fingers intertwine with yours. “Yeah that’s a good idea.” You gave his hand a little squeeze and for a moment you thought about leaning up to kiss him but he was already leading you back to his bike and you felt your courage dwindle.

When you arrived at the boardwalk you were both glad to find that the Yatai were still in fact open. You took a seat together and ordered 2 bowls of ramen. Jin couldn’t help but feel relived this was just as affordable as the place he’d been planning to take you. He wasn’t cheap he just didn’t have as much to spend as he used to these days. As you both waited for your food and chatted you found your hand slowly sliding across the counter towards Jin’s, his met you half way and your fingers brushed lightly before twining once again. He ran a calloused pad over your knuckles before raising your hand up, he cautiously glanced around to make sure no one would notice the fairly public display before pressing a light kiss to your knuckles. He took a moment to really appreciate the feeling of your soft skin against his lips, eyes closing before setting your hand back down on the counter. Your face was so red you were almost afraid you’d pass out right there. “Sorry.” “Totally not sorry!” 2 bowls of ramen were placed in front of you before you could even respond. The only sign that anything had happened now was the lingering blush on both of your faces.

Now full of good food you and Jin walked hand and hand out of the small stall and down to the sandy shore, shucking off your boots and socks. Unknowingly you and Jin shared the same thought. ‘I really hope she/he can’t smell my boots right now.’ You shot each other nervous smiles. It was dark now making the late spring air cool and crisp. Jin saw this as the perfect opportunity to wrap his arm securely around you and pull you against his side as you walk down the shore together, just out of the lapping ocean’s icy reach. You gladly nestled into his side, resting your head against his shoulder. “Just for the record, this is probably the best first date I’ve been on.” Your head lolls back a little so you can catch his gaze. “Really?” ‘Of course it is! I’m awesome.” Jin clears his throat, “I uh, I think it’s been pretty good too.” “This is awful.” You quirk an eyebrow at him, “Pretty good huh?” “Yeah, there’s still one thing I want to do before I’d say it’s the best.” He held you still so he could stand before you. Slowly Jin leaned down to catch your lips in a chaste kiss. You smile up at him before throwing your arms around his neck and pulling him in once again. He was a little surprised at how bold you could sometimes be. But if this was what it got him he didn’t mind at all. His arms wrapped tightly around your waist to pull you flush against him while your fingers tanged in the hair at the base of his head. When you two parted it was only to catch your breath. “Yeah now it’s a perfect date.” “It’s been okay I guess.”

#jin bubaigawara #jin bubaigawara x reader #twice x reader #twice bnha #bnha imagines #bnha scenarios

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strangest-loser · 4 years

Text

Twilight Rewrite

Fire in my Blood ~ Jasper Hale x OC ~ Book One: Chapter Two

Chapter One

There weren't very many rules in the Swan household, and they weren't just set by Charlie, his main rule: Alessia couldn't have boys over in her bedroom, if Jacob, Quill and Embry were coming over they had to stay in the living room or the kitchen, but it was very rare that they hung out at her home anyway, they spent most of their time on the reserve.

Alessia's main rule: if Charlie got caught up at work or an emergency happened past 8pm he had to let her know he was safe so she didn't worry herself into a heart attack. That rule was established after one night when Alessia was 15 and Charlie had an animal attack emergency and didn't get home till 2am. Alessia didn't know where he was and when he came home he found her in the corner of the kitchen having a panic attack and ended up making herself sick. He never forgot that rule.

But the rule that was established by the both of them and arguably the most important rule of all: if the song was released after 1990 ... It couldn't be played in the car ever!

~' Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night and Wouldn't you love to love her?

Takes to the sky like a bird in flight and

Who will be her lover? '~

"you did not just say that to me!", came Alessia's outraged voice overlapping the velvety vocals of Stevie Nicks coming from the cruisers radio, Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon' playing through the car as Alessia debated her father, "what you just said is absolute blasphemy, take it back!".

"I won't take it back, I meant what I said, 'don't stop' is the superior Fleetwood Mac song!". Came Charlie's retort as he pulled off the highway towards the airport.

"okay first of all, 'don't stop' isn't superior, the layout, 'Landslide' is their best, then 'Rhiannon', then 'Gypsy', then maybe 'don't stop'." Alessia said, leaving no room for Charlie to argue as he just gave her a look that said `we will finish this later.`

They pulled into the parking lot of William R Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles just in time for the song to end and Alessia reached forward to change the CD. Fleetwood Mac was swapped out for The Foundations as the opening of 'Build me up Buttercup' flowed into her ears. A laugh was pulled out of Charlie as he and his daughter sang along while looking for a parking spot.

Leaning against the car as she watched her dad walk into the building to get to Bella's gate, Alessia let her nerves begin to creep back into her mind. Would Bella still be kind? Would she like her room? Would their relationship ever go back to the way it was when they were younger? Did Alessia even want that? Shaking those thoughts out of her head she felt an itching sensation in the back of her head, like someone was watching her. She looked behind her to the tree line and let her eyes focus. There was nothing there, maybe she was imagining it.

Her attention was brought back to her father walking back to the car with a suitcase in his hand and with a brunette following behind him. Alessia took this time to really look at her sister.

Bella looked like she was a little bit shorter than her. Her hair was around collarbone length while Alessia's was long, reaching the middle of her back when it was down, Bella's held a wavy curl in it while Alessia's was poker straight, the only similarity they shared was the colour, like chocolate. Bella wore comfy jeans and a shirt, a contrast to the blue and gold that was Alessia's cheerleading uniform. And funnily enough Alessia's skin held a richer tone than Bella's own pale skin, but not much.

Their eyes met and Alessia offered a soft smile to the girl she hadn't seen in four years. Her smile was returned but it didn't really reach Bella's eyes. This would take some time.

Pulling into the driveway concluded probably one of the most awkward car rides of Alessia's life. As soon as the engine cut out Alessia sprung out of the passenger seat and raced to unlock the door. After setting her keys down on the kitchen table she turned to see her father and Bella walk through the front door. "Want me to get started on dinner dad?" She asked already moving to the fridge. " I was thinking we should have a diner night tonight Al".

Alessia's mouth watered at the thought of her favourite desert at the diner, Cora's famous apple crisp with ice cream, after the weird day she had today, nothing sounded better than something familiar. "Sounds like a plan" she replies following them up the stairs to stand in the doorway of Bella's room "I tried not to decorate in here too much because I didn't know what you liked" Alessia explained looking around the room she had prepared for Bella. "No it's great, thanks Alessia" came the younger girls reply.

"ok well I'll be in my room if you need anything, dad, call me when we're leaving for food". Alessia took her leave and walked into the safehaven that was her bedroom. She adored her room. Her double bed had a homemade quilt that Leah and her grandmother had made for her 16th birthday and a bunch of pillows on top of a white bedspread. The walls were lined with photos of her friends going back through the years up until the most recent which stood on her dresser in a frame. It was taken two weeks ago in front of Emmet's jeep, Alessia and Alice were sitting on the hood laughing at each other while Emmet was staring at Rosalie with pure devotion written on his features and Jasper stood next to Alice, Edward had taken the picture. Her ceiling was covered in fairy lights and those glow in the dark stars that she put up when she was 8 which still helped her sleep at night (her most kept secret) and her desk housed her homework and her printer, next to her desk sat her bay window with a window seat that held more pillows and another blanket. The last thing that stood in her room was her bookshelf that held half fiction books and half historical books, all of which were well loved, with dog-eared and yellowed pages (her copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' was falling apart and stained with tea but she still managed to read it countless times).

Setting her backpack on her desk chair she walked over to her dresser and picked up the picture, observing it once more. It was the coldest day of February and everyone was wrapped up in coats and hats. Alice was holding Alessia's gloves hostage above her head and trying not to fall off the hood of the jeep. Rosalie was wearing her signature necklace and a pretty ring on her index finger and seemed to be engrossed in whatever Emmet was telling her. And Jasper... Alessia stopped in her tracks as she looked at the picture, Jasper was looking at her... How had she never noticed that before.

Her confusion was interrupted by a car pulling into her driveway, she set the framed picture back before walking over to the window and looking out only to see a very familiar black car pull up. An excited smile spread on her face like wildfire as she booked it out of her room and down the stairs, opening the door and running to jump on Jacob Black. "You didn't tell me you were coming! I would have planned something dastardly" she said while giggling as her best friend spun her around before setting her down and giving her his meanest look. "Absolutely not, you have gotten me grounded way too many times and it's never worth it" he said pulling her into a loving headlock while she whined and tried to escape. Once he let her go Alessia whipped her head around and her mischievous face caused Jacob so smile in a similar way. "Want to see what kind of trouble we can get into?" She asked poking him in the stomach, "oh god, we're going to die aren't we?", His response prompted a punch in the shoulder. "It's a Tuesday, I know how to restrain myself" Alessia replied like Jacob had just offended her greatly. The voice of Billy Black then came from over her shoulder, "you absolutely do not!".

Alessia zoned out as she felt that itching feeling coming from the woods again, looking out into the trees she still couldn't see anything out there, this was starting to freak her out. Her mind focused back in on her dad telling Bella that the old orange truck in front of them was her welcome home gift. This sparked a sickly feeling in Alessia's stomach, Alessia had been working her ass off doing odd shifts at the diner and even occasionally assisting Doctor Cullen at the hospital when he had patients but he needed his office sorted through and cleared up, all to save up for a car that she has needed for the past 3 years, and her sister shows up and just gets one handed to her.

Alessia stops her own train of thought there and banishes the jealousy in her mind. Jealousy was an ugly emotion that she hated seeing and hated feeling even more. Charlie hadn't seen Bella since she was 13, it made sense that he would want to spoil her.

The diner was reletively full for a Tuesday evening but it wasn't overcrowded, the atmosphere was nice, and Alessia thought that was why she liked it so much. It really felt like a friendly family restaurant. The dinner went by without much conversation other than sporadic conversations between Alessia and her dad about work and school.

"I normally get a ride to school Bella so you just need to worry about driving yourself there" Alessia said with a smile after finishing her lemonade. The conversation drew to a close when Cora came out from the kitchen with a tray of dessert, two berry cobblers and one apple crisp.

"Al, sweetheart, I've got a shift for you tomorrow evening if you are up for it, Sarah is attending a wedding" Cora told her with a kind smile. Alessia nodded through a mouthful of sweet, warm apple and Cora laughed walking away to put her name on the schedule. Bella's eyes looked up from her plate to meet her sisters, "you work here?"

"sometimes, I just do the odd shift because I don't want to get a proper job till after school, but I've gotta buy a car. Sometimes I work down at the hospital too which should help me with getting into medschool". The only thing that Alessia loved more than apple crisp was helping people.

After that eventful day drew to a close Alessia was finishing up some history homework when she thought back to her class today and how weird it was, she couldn't recall anything from the lesson but her conversation with jasper was playing on repeat in her head. He had never really spoken to her in the entire year and a bit that they were in the same class and group, but today not only did he have a full conversation with Alessia, he had started it. She thought back to the photograph on her dresser and how Jasper's eyes were very clearly trained on her face as she laughed with his sister.

This whole situation was very strange indeed.

Watching as Bella pulled into the parking lot the next morning, Alessia bid Alice goodbye and started walking towards the orange pickup parked in front of Tyler's van. "Hey Bells", Bella turned at the sound of her older sister's voice and a look of relief crossed her face at the familiar face approaching her. "I have no idea where I'm going, can you take me to the office, I have paperwork to finish", came the younger's quiet voice. Alessia shot her a small smile, she could imagine that this was nerve-wracking for Bella. She linked arms with her sister and started walking towards the building at the top of the lot.

Their quiet talking let them have time to catch up, Bella told Alessia about life in Phoenix and informed her sister that she brought her a tiny cactus that matched her own. By the time they reached the office doors they were laughing like they did when they were younger and their bond felt just a little bit stronger. "You know I missed you Bells" Alessia's voice grew softer as she looked towards the floor, for a confident girl she was never the best at eye contact when expressing her emotions. She was just about to panic at the silence that met her words until she felt her arms wrap around her waist in a tight hug, "I missed you too".

And so the next few days carried in like that, Alessia would get in the car with Rosalie, Alice and occasionally Edward, she would sit with them for lunch (catching her baby sister not-so-subtly stare at Edward, and watching him stare back), and Jasper sat next to her in every history class that week. It wasn't until Friday that things got strange.

"Honestly Bella don't worry about Edward he is so dramatic", rang out from Alessia sitting on the hood of the truck while trying to read 'Interview with a Vampire' for the millionth time in her life. Hearing Bella grumble under her breath is what made her jump off the hood and stand beside her. Their back and forth banter had Alessia standing at the bed of the truck with her back to the lot. She didn't notice it until it was too late.

Tyler's tires screeched against the ice that littered the ground and his car spun out of control. Alessia didn't comprehend what was happening until she felt a force push her out of the way making her fall and knock her lights out when her head hit the ground.

Waking up in the hospital was only something Alessia was known for once which meant that waking up with a splitting headache with Dr Cullens extremely handsome face looking down on her was thoroughly confusing for the poor girl. “did I fall asleep during my shift?”, her slurred words made the man in front of her laugh lightly before writing something on his clipboard. “No Alessia, there was an accident at the school, a van crashed into the side of Bella’s truck and you fell over and hit your head on the bed of the truck on your way down, you have concussion, everyone else is just fine”. The throbbing in her head grew worse at the words ‘hit your head’ and Alessia began to fight against the blanket that the nurse beside her was trying to wrap around her.

“Carlisle you are gonna have to walk me through that again, my ears feel like cotton” the brunette muttered at the man as he shined a tiny light into her eyes. She was still fighting against the nurses blanket which prompted Carlisle to dismiss the nurse entirely.

“Why do people keep trying to put this blanket on me ?”

“Because you’re in shock”

“That doesn’t mean I need a blanket. It means I need booze”.

The laugh that rang through the room didn’t come from Carlisle that time but from the opening door as the rest of the Cullen bunch came through the doors of her room. Esme, someone that Alessia considered a mother, came to her bedside and hugged the girl before Alice climbed into the bed with her and began petting her head. The rhythmic movements of the girls cool hand felt heavenly to Alessia’s poor throbbing head and she completely checked out of the conversation happening around her to lean into the younger girls touch. “you guys can afford so much expensive stuff but you cant afford blood circulation” she joked which prompted Rosalie to hit her shoulder lightly “Alessia, you are so loopy right now”.

Her eyes drifted towards the door where a lone figure stood, Jasper’s shoulders were stiff and he looked like he would rather be anywhere else but there at that moment. This caused Alessia to deflate slightly but she quickly snapped herself out of that mentally, it didn’t have to mean anything about her.

Maybe the guy just didn’t like hospitals.

#twilight x reader #jasper hale x reader #twilight rewrite #twilight #rosalie twilight #Alessia Swan OC #bella swan #fire in my blood #original character #rosalie hale #jasper hale #alice cullen #edward cullen

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getallemeralds · 3 years

Text

explorers of arvus: heading back / 3.11.21

zoom and enhonse

LAST TIME ON ARVUS taure passed out and we are now down a healer! also we met a disciple of halvkar, and surprisingly did not murder her. this is fine. we have instantly gotten distracted by our various carts. cats. our various cats

DID ANY OF US CATCH TAURE, SHE FELL OVER sieron tried to catch her and smacked charlie+thorne in the face (he rolled a nat1, f) BUT the catboy is to the rescue bc silje is the designated Not Incompetent of the group today

CONSULT THE CHILD hewwo yrel yrel: her mind is being consumed by the serpent of nightmares. :D charlie: HELLO?????//

so, dendar(?) the night serpent is imprisoned beneath arvus! she was formed from the nightmares of the first sentient being, and sometimes she eats people's nightmares. if she's exceptionally hungry, she'll force nightmares onto people for her to feed off their fear. yrel thinks taure will Probably wake up. there's a thing on arvus mentioned by the locals called a "sleeping sickness" where people will fall asleep for a few days, sometimes longer, but will wake up. its magical in cause, the people afflicted by it have horrific nightmares, and its just kinda. a thing. wowza

(i have gone back to spelling yrel's name as yrel bc i think it looks nice)

OH HEY SOMEONE POSTED A THEORY ON ONE OF MY STICKMOLUS ANIMATIONS man i should get back to stickmolus sometime. once dsmp releases its awful grip on me.

i keep getting distracted by seeing myself in the camera preview. i have a tooth gap! what the fuck its cute?? K I KNOW WE'RE SUPER BLURRY IN FRONT RN BUT PLEASE HELP ME STAY FOCUSED I SWEAR -leo

we're gonna build a sled! to put taure on. thorne: i have a good strength score. ....i say, out loud charlie: i am four feet tall. [cue argument between thorne & sieron about them both being horcs but sieron has a +0 bc strength is his dump stat] OH, OKAY, THORNE ROLLED A NAT20 TO CARRY TAURE. NICE

[discussion about what to tell everyone at camp vengenace] thorne: the last thing we need to do is a witch hunt charlie: --and we already hunted the witch! the witch has been hunted.

time to discuss strategy! we need to figure out how to head back to camp vengeance, eg if we want to follow the path we already took or if we wanna do some trailblazing. looks like we're gonna try and take the most direct path! which means we'll prolly risk tangoing with some undead but im willing to risk it TINY HUT STAIRCASE sorry i just remember it now and then

nyx: [meowing at his cats] thorne: uh... why is silje meowing? jorb: silje's food bowl is empty jorb: you look at silje's food bowl and there's a divot in the middle and the food is all on the sides emotionally, we must bully the catboy silje saw something interesting and started meowing

thorne: ill take first watch silje: ill also take first watch. charlie: [quietly] gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy (but, like, extended for 15 seconds)

silje: [takes watch] [rolls a nat1 and gets distracted by looking at his crush]

THORNE HAS LOCATED A DOG the dog does not give a shit about the tiny hut. THE DOG HAS PEED ON THE TINY HUT goodbye dog

EVERYONE IS ROLLING AT LEAST 1 NAT1 thorne: wow! that sure is a dog. thorne has drawn the worst possible dog. thorne has erased the worst possible dog. we dont speak of the worst possible dog its the dog version of honse. DONSE

sieron is now on watch! MAN we are havin trouble rolling today. at least kali's here to make sure sieron doesnt stare at a rock for 50000 years sieron sees a mouse! bottom text

charlie is now on watch! kali is havin a big ol thonk. nothing meaningful has come of this

i am perceiving some deer. sieron is not perceiving some deer. silje is perceiving some deer, but better the deer are fucked up and undead! silje has gone from "we should hunt these deer for food" to "we should hunt these deer for sport"

charlie: i do not feel like being jumped by five thousand skeletons

charlie takes first watch with sieron! WHY ARE OUR ROLLS SO TERRIBLE taure is super cursed right now. that's not very pog charlie: this place sucks. thorne: to be fair, we havent-- charlie: YOU'RE ASLEEP, SHUT UP

oh hey coolname galvanic finally partied. nice.

thorne is at watch! solar: hey, is leomund's tiny hut an orb? there's a critter digging around! AH, THE CRITTER IS UNDEAD. this could be a problem

solar: hey michael, how much does the horrific sin against god dog i drew look like this creature michael: [dice roll noises] about 50%.

michael: if anyone likes, they can make a nature check-- solar: ME MEMEMEMEME ME ME ME

its a bulette! aka a land shark. problem: they are not normally undead. this one is undead.

jorb: imagine if you could tame one of those and use it as a mount. leo: IT WOULD JUST DIG UNDERGROUND AND LEAVE YOU THERE

we are just calling it a weird dog

we're going to mail a letter to the heart of arvus. HEY, CHECK OUT THIS WEIRD DOG,

JORB FOUND ART OF A BABY BULETTE. WEIRD PUPPY!

solar: hey guys, check out this sick art of a bulette i found

silje kept a lookout for the weird dog but its just fucked off. goodbye, weird dog give it up for day 3!

man there's been like, three incinerations today in blaseball. what's up with that. I SWEAR IM MOSTLY PAYING ATTENTION its just been an eventful day in blaseball. also im wearing my garages bomber rn. jaylen is home wooOOOO the wind smells stinky. this is fine.

we're actively avoiding whatever combat michael keeps nudging at us bc we're carrying around an unconscious person and i SWEAR hes gonna throw something directly at us once he's done with our shenanigans

UHH MICHAEL ASKING FOR PASSIVE PERCEPTION LOL

huh. this place used to be inhabited? we're in the woods rn but there's some like, stone ruins? like, VERY ruins. like, not really any structures standing, but enough evidence to show there Were things. WE FOUND A STATUE charlie: i want to smash my face against the lore.

used to be a circle of standing stones, but most of em fell over or got overgrown. inside of the circle has been cleared, although v roughly-- ground's torn up statue is of fjolnir! warrior holding up a spear and shield. AH, THERE ARE CORPSES, a human got REAL fucked up here. one of the corpses is straight up impaled on fjolnir's spear. n ... not pog.

i am trying so, so hard to pay attention. but i also kinda wanna take a nap.

charlie: [stares at statue] [rolls a 4] i wonder if he had a dick.

okay so something rolled in, tore up the overgrowth inside the circle, and murdered a couple dudes. and was also super tall and human-adjacent. hrm.

oh my god why are we rolling so shit today. time to stealth away and hope we dont get casually dismembered

k: jorb's hair is so long... leo: K, PLEASE,

time for a break! i am very tired but im gonan see if i can push through a little further. nyx is petting his cat why do orangatangs look like that

first watch is thorne and sieron! have they even, like, talked thorne unhabby ): thorne's worried we were tresspassing when checking out the statue, meanwhile im thinking about that one time when sieron got bit by a groundhog

(oh my god this is from late 2018)

leomund's tiny hut, aka the anti-sea bear circle we are getting SO much mileage out of the tiny hut. SILJE HUMS A SONG WITH KALI cute........... FINALLY I HAVE ROLLED ABOVE A 14 wait no i rolled a 16 twice. anyway we are not dead

nearly at camp vengenace! boy howdy i hope camp vengeance didnt get burned down. AH FUCK TAURE IS UNCONSCIOUS SO WE CANT CAST FOR DETECT POISON kaepora nearly made us all shit ourselves but its okay he just saw some bison and thought it was cool Michael Is Consulting Several Tables

WHY DOES JORB'S CAMERA ZOOM LIKE THAT why am i hungry. i have so many questions

HEY, TALL GUY [smacks sieron]

camp vengeance looks better! like, nobody's Obviously Sick anymore, the medical tents arent overfilled, we did it! we saved the dayyyyyy time to report to ryder! taure's getting dropped off at the medical tent

man remember when charlie didnt wear pants

oh man, with taure unconscious charlie is now taking point with social interaction. wild. jk im making jorb do it bc im tired HAHA NAT 20 PERSUASION BC OF ME HELPIN SIERON man ryder is such a cock. he was totally ready to keep throwing troops at heaven's brazier to die until we managed to persuade him out of it. jorb: did we tell ryder about the vision? michael: you kinda just took a look at him and went STINKY BOY!

okay yeah anything that dies on arvus will just pop back up as undead. man, arvus sucks.

ryder: alright, dismissed. charlie: seeya, soldier boy! :D hahahahaha im gonna eat his knees.

SILJE NEEDS ENRICHMENT IN HIS ENCLOSURE

charlie: ive decided he sucks. silje: we've already arrived to that, you're late!

LMAO WE WALKED IN ON INGRID AND HER CRUSH they fuckin. nice. you go, you funky lesbian

jorb: we've got the tiny hut, we could go anywhere leo: we could go to SPACE! nyx: we could not go to space. leo: WITH A TINY HUT STAIRCASE, WE CAN,

we are 320 miles away from the spaceship that exists on arvus. nice.

michael: justin sees you-- roll a strength saving throw. leo: i cant wait to die! [rolls a 3] I AM CRUSHED BY MY DOG michael: he rolled a nat20.

BOSS ENCOUNTER: CHARLIE'S DOG (the small circle next to him is one of the medical tents.)

THORNE IS PACT OF THE GUN solar: PARRY THIS, YOU FUCKING CASUAL

sieron, to ingrid: seems like youve been doing well charlie: i punch sieron. sieron: sieron: the camp, of course.

man we have no idea if the heart of arvus is actually related to the prophecy or not. theres a Lot of stuff lining up, but not enough, and its hard to say how much of it couldve been literal?

solar & michael: [discussing exposition] me: [cracking up bc penn sent me a funny dsmp joke]

prophecies are weird.

charlie is just s she is just sitting here SILJE PLAYED CARDS REALLY GOOD AT ME nyx rolled a nat20 and took all my money

oh cool we can talk to yrel telepathically! time to hoist yrel. THIS IS SO SCUFFED thorne mentioned yrel and now we're trying to explain to ingrid that we have a magic talking snake charlie: I WANT TO GO HOME. thorne: we cant go, we have a GOD-KING to kill! "i think theyre insane, theyre talking to a snake" "ingrid, druids exist" "oh. im gonna go back to getting railed by my 7 foot tall girlfriend"

#leo chirps #ttrpg #explorers of arvus #OKAY WE'RE CAUGHT UP NOW sorry abt that lmao

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viktcrr · 4 years

Text

「maxence danet-fauvel & nonbinary」⇾ samuels, viktor, the senior radcliffe student’s records show that he/they are a capricorn and 24 years old. he/they are studying visual arts, living in noland and can be observant, ingenious, reticent & dependent. when i see him/them i am reminded of a sculptor’s hands clay-ridden, the insistent hum of tv static, and a crying preacher inside a dusty funeral home. ⇽「james & 21 & est & they/them.」

hllo !!! i’m james n here’s one of my big idiot muses <3 he’s not actually dumb he’s :/ a bit evil. bt thts okay hes still <3 beloved <3 LKDSFHLSADLKGFSHLKD anyways!

TW DEATH, HEAVY GRIEF, OVERDOSE / DRUG ADDICTION, HOSPITALIZATION, HYPERSEXUALITY, RELIGION MENTIONS, MENTAL ILLNESS

aesthetic.

old tvs and their static, worn tapes, horror movie screams, spilled ink, a sculptor’s hands, clay-stained, chicken scratch handwriting, messy notes, messy hair, scoffs and eye-rolls, bruised knuckles, sore throats, funeral homes and a crying preacher, shattered ceramics, knife fights, high ledges, vertically-striped pants, red lights, the moon shrouded in clouds, cigarette butts, graveyards and half-empty wine bottles, sitting there for hours and talking to nothing, about nothing, a god complex, gold rings adorning both hands, barbwire baseball bats, having never played baseball in your life, deep eyebags and broken mirrors, a permanent chip on one’s shoulder, yearning, longing, wishing.

basic info.

full name: viktor phillip samuels

nickname(s): icky vicky :/

b.o.d. - jan 2nd

label(s): the black hole, the crepehanger, the impious, the opaque, the tempest, etc.

height: 6′1″

hometown: rochester, new york

sexuality: pansexual uwu

stats

inspired by: beetlejuice (beetlejuice), sid (toy story), jack sparrow (pirates of the caribbean), francis wilkerson (malcolm in the middle), azula (avatar: the last airbender), vicky (the fairly oddparents), stu macher / billy loomis (scream), marshall lee (adventure time), bojack horseman (bojack horseman), any it’s always sunny character :/

biography.

born to mama and papa (preacher) samuels in rochester, new york - fifteen minutes after his twin sister, tatiana samuels. years later, rosa samuels joined the gang.

was an awkward, quiet kid growing up, he didn’t interact well with others and preferred being left alone to dig up worms and draw on the walls of their childhood home. the only exception was his twin, really.

as he got older he grew out of this, but instead became like … sort of an asshole? maybe to compensate for years of childhood awkwardness. he’s the sort of person who will bite the hand that feeds him & developed into a full time nuisance by middle school, unlike tatiana who was much more subtle about her conniving manners.

always has been a fan of ‘darker’ materials. grim & creepy morbid shit. probably the biggest tim burton fan, ever since he was a kid … not a good look for a preacher’s son, but he never really felt ‘in’ with the rest of his family to begin with. classic black sheep syndrome.

drew disturbing pictures as a kid that probably prompted one or two or five phone calls home to assure everything was fine.

just really had a knack for art at a young age, from drawing to painting to playing with clay. it’s always been his Thing and probably is the only thing he’s good at.

being twins with tatiana was hard. they were near opposite besides both being quite mean-spirited. tatiana handled being in public better, left a better image behind - but viktor had talent, more than she did. they loved each other deeply - y’know, those unbreakable twin bonds as cliche as it sounds - but found each other as competition for their parents’ attention. a rivalry for affection.

in high school is when viktor really started to act out. it started extreme, like losing his virginity in their church and vandalism around the neighborhoods. faked being possessed in the middle of sunday service & almost had an exorcism performed on him.

his only redeemable trait was like … just his sheer talent in the arts. was in a 3D art AP course and specialized in sculptures. he could pretty much create anything he wanted with enough dedication.

because he was the problem child, the one who deserved to be disciplined for all his antics, tatiana could sneak away and get away with whatever she wanted much easier. on the bright-side, for her, i guess.

not a very motivated person - wasn’t planning on going to college, much less going to radcliffe but his parents literally wrote & sent his college application for him because they weren’t going to house a deadbeat but had too much heart to kick him out onto the streets. cool!

he’s actually pretty smart but he just doesn’t apply himself. has a minor in english because he didn’t care for an extra course-load, but he’s good at writing & analyzing literature. is going to use it to write and illustrate his own series of children books with a style similar to tim burton’s. not for the kids, but because he likes to leave a trail of terror in whatever he does.

has been experimenting with himself since high school but college is where he really had started to crack down on himself. was out as pansexual & nonbinary by his sophomore year of college just … not to his parents, who don’t really need to know.

if you asked him if he believed in twins having a psychic connection with each other - he’d tell you he wouldn’t know. it felt believable at times, but sometimes he had no idea what was going on inside of tatiana’as head. on the other hand - viktor had always felt oddly transparent to her, like she knew all of his moves before he did. the only person who could predict him accurately.

( TW DEATH, GRIEF, OVERDOSE / HOSPITALIZATION BEYOND THIS POINT )

when tatiana disappeared, viktor knew something was up. it was a twist in his gut, pure instinct that something wasn’t right. and it wasn’t right - and when she was proclaimed missing, they couldn’t find her.

and when tatiana died - viktor knew. it felt wrong, something cut so severely in him he could pinpoint her death to the second. he didn’t know how, or why, but he knew it. knew it before anybody else had.

afterwards he went on a sort of bender. he’d begun to struggle with a mild drug addiction late senior year of high school / early college, but he was managing it up until this point.

his mental health had also sunk to an all-time low, when it’d never been great to begin with. (manic & depressive episodes. once fixated on a sculpting project for six months and then knocked it off the table and destroyed it as soon as he finished it for no apparent reason.)

tatiana’s body wasn’t found immediately, and when it was … viktor went off the rails. ended up overdosing & being hospitalized. spent six months in & out of psychiatric care after that.

came back to radcliffe to finish his senior year because … for the reasons above, he hadn’t been able to complete it. just wants to get his credits and get out of here.

is still dealing with a lot of trauma & grief, especially since the one year anniversary of tatiana’s death was this month (january) - causes him to spiral and be unpredictable in regards of his mental health. he stopped taking his medication, so. :/ some days are alright, other days are pretty bad.

UPDATE: now that summer’s come n go ... viktor hs been thru <3 a lot <3 recently. switched therapists (his :/ last one got her license revoked) & started new medications, went to a treatment center briefly ‘cos .. he wasn’t doing too well :/ bt now he’s back baybey! trying to be better n trying to be sober but ... :/

personality.

the human embodiment of a gremlin that was fed after midnight. a goblin, if you will. one of those cats with a narrow head and really big ears … that’s them!

a big horror & halloween enthusiast. loves the old campy horror movies & probably has an abundance of masks from different movies. dresses like a grimy millennial beetlejuice more than they should because they just … love those black & white vertical-striped pants.

can appreciate the lore & cryptids at radcliffe and likes to feed into the fear that surrounds them. is probably the cause of a few ‘anomalies’ and ‘paranormal sightings’ because they’re just … a jerk.

fashion alternates between e-boy (they would be tiktok famous if they were 17 & didn’t think that a majorly minor based app was weird.), millennial beetlejuice, and goth in a crop top & sweatpants. big fan of crop tops and a big fan of sweatpants.

they can be really fucking mean? petty, aggressive, a major instigator. will literally spit in your face for little to no reason, you could just look at them the wrong way. the kind of person who will stick their gum into someone else’s hair. other than that? they’re like … sort of okay. they’re not always mean, just a dick about 90% of the time lmao

like okay yeah they’ll call someone a stinky bitch for no reason except they feel like it and believes it. it’s fine, they’re fine, we’re fine.

despite the fact that they’re probably getting into a fight whenever, considers themself to be a lover and not a fighter but that’a primarily because they fuck a lot. uses it as a coping mechanism, like they’re this big fancy carnival show that’s like ‘come one, come all! fuck the dead girl’s twin brother!’ and it’s … a Lot. might have a problem with hypsersexuality but they’re not fully aware of it.

the preacher’s whore son, basically :)

pansexual & nonbinary, switches between he & they pronouns often and without a pattern, but they have such a fragile grip on their identity that you could call them ‘dog-faced bitch’ and they’d turn around like. sup.

vastly impulsive … like i said, they destroy their own creations for the fun of it. spends all teir money on useless shit, will cheat on someone because they feel like it & likes the thrill, screams into the night sky frequently like a cat in heat.

will also spend months creating useless shit for no reason too. spent six of them sculpting a hollowed out tree the size of them & then took a sledgehammer to it.

they’re very super dramatic. would play the organ at church when nobody was looking after them and service was about to start. would just churn out these super haunting, creepy melodies like they were phantom of the opera. would do the same exact thing at home on their keyboard with the pipe organ setting whenever they got grounded until their parents took it away HBDSJFNGKH

will absolutely not talk about their ‘time away’ because it’s not anyone’s business, not even their own younger sister. still refuses to talk about tatiana’s death, or their mental health, or their addiction (fallen back into it but it hasn’t gotten severe … yet :/), or anything involving their own emotions.

will just change the topic abruptly, no warning. asks about the jonas brothers instead and they fucking hate the jonas brothers.

that being said they’re absolutely not over tatiana’s death & it’s to the point of obsession over it. like there’s some kind of secret that needs to be uncovered, even though there just. isn’t. tatiana was their rock and they were pretty much dependent on her. kept them grounded. could control them when nobody else could, got into their head easier than others. it’s sort of like rosa lost two siblings that day because viktor hasn’t been the same since.

emotionally unavailable while also crying twice a day. cries during their brawls but still wins. is stony-faced when they tell you they cheated on you with your much hotter best friend.

will tell you straight up what they want from you, no bullshit & no beating around the bush. just blunt. if they want to fuck, nothing else, then that’s it. if they feel deviation or developing feelings then they’ll ghost in less than a second. is awful like that but feels no shame.

but also emotional as shit and it’s confusing. will cry on a whim and then flip you off if you try to console them or ask them what’s up. will bite you.

they go to therapy but they just fuck around and wastes their therapists’ time … also is fucking their therapist, but that’s neither here nor there. so they’re not really getting the help they need.

likes to be intimidating but not … with their body or anything because they’re a TWIG but uses their love & knowledge of horror and creepy shit to their advantage. has an abundance of fake blood. has channeled the energy of jack nicholson and used it on tatiana’s boyfriends before (also is a big fan of sfx makeup & has dabbled in it)

probably chases kids around with a chainsaw without the chain on halloween every year.

generally never doing good, both mental health wise & morally. would probably steal candy from a baby for funsies.

i don’t know if there’s a good to them somewhere deep down, but they don’t see any issues with themself either. nothing really breaks through to them anymore because the only person who ever made them stop and think about their actions was tatiana, and well, y’know. :/

an introverted reclusive type who doesn’t like most people or going out, but does so anyway if it means a quick high & a cheap thrill.

pretty observant and likes to analyze people even though they’re often like … partially wrong. judgmental because they like to make people feel bad, not because they’re a righteous mighty person. because they’re not. so like, a hypocrite!

wanted connections.

a roommate… but it’s an absolute nightmare to live with him.

enemies… because viktor would have a lot of them…

familiar faces… people who knew tatiana or of her / were her friends. maybe even those who dated her, and who viktor would’ve tried to intimidate / scare at any given chance :/

pitiful glances… people who take pity on viktor and he hates it sooo much.

hooligan gremlin kids… just a friend group of grown ass adults who do drugs and fuck shit up around town like they’re edgy teenagers.

high school girlfriend… probably the one he lost his virginity to inside his family church :/

childhood acquaintances… people who knew him from his youth.

exes… good & bad terms, but mostly bad terms because viktor is an actual demon. probably cheated on them.

soft… i don’t know if he’s soft towards anyone and/or is capable of it but we can try. we can try.

unrequited… either viktor just doesn’t like them or he’s holding back because he’s :/ got issues with relationships & is self-sabotaging as one does

enemies with Tension… of the … spicy kind if you know what i mean. wink.

friends… old friends, new friends, bad friends, good friends, close friends, frenemies, etc. i don’t know how many he had but if your muse likes to cause a ruckus and fuck shit up then viktor’s your man.

hook-ups… current or old. friends with benefits, one night stands, anything and everything because he fucks around a lot.

ride or die… friendship but make it extreme.

bad influence… he’s just toxic to be around and brings out the worst in people :/

bad egg… he’s gotten into a few fights :/ maybe you witnessed it. maybe you were in it.

literally anything i wld love all sorts of plots.

#ruhqintro #death tw #grief tw #drug abuse tw #addiction tw #overdose tw #hospitalization tw #hypersexuality tw #religion mention

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kattegat-kittycat · 4 years

Text

Fates Entwined, part VII: This Is Where We Fall Apart

After your former clan was brutally murdered, you agree to an arranged marriage with Ivar to keep your social status. You may not always see eye to eye and sometimes even find yourself on different sides of one war or the other, but somehow you can never escape each other no matter how much you try to forget, deny and run. Somehow you always end up in each other’s faces. Sometimes quite literally.

A/N: First of all, thank you guys for your support. I started writing this thing thinking it would be just something to entertain myself, posted on this sideblog because I thought, well, maybe somebody else finds some distraction and joy in this, but now my pretty intoverted self is overwhelmed by the feedback I got from some of you. So, thanks! Also, sorry if I forgot to tag someone or something, this is all so new to me and I get overwhelmed and it just...I get kind of fuzzy over it and forget things.

Concerning the story, this is where it gets dark. Well, you probably figured as much, because this is where Ivar canonically gets dark and starts spiralling out of control. I don’t know how the series ends yet, but I have an end for Ivar and the reader in mind. So, I try not to change too much about the series’ plot, but if I need to break from canon in the end, then I will probably do just that. Or not. Depending how it all works out. But I kind of already have parts of the ending written out and yeah, let’s see what gives.

The song I linked to this chapter is one of my favourite songs right now and I listened to it a lot while I wrote the upcoming chapters, because I love how the beginning is rather calm, but sounds freaking menancing, which is just such an Ivar-kinda-mood. Also, I could see how someone might be fed up with Ivar’s one-track-minded and self-destructive hunger to prove himself. So, yeah, sorry for that. :D

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

You bring your issues, I bring the tissues

You bring your bad news, I bring the booze

You’re so self-destructive, I’m not in the mood

I’m saying fuck this, I’ve died enough for you

This is where we fall apart

This is where I’m giving up

Blind Channel – Died Enough For You

When I woke up the next morning, Ivar had already gone. I sat up and looked around the room, smiling as I remembered last night. Then I frowned. There were things I still had to tell him, things that weren’t important last night, but he should know. As I got dressed, I heard someone at the entrance to the house.

“Y/N?” I heard Astrid’s voice coming from the door.

I fixed my dress and stepped out from behind the curtain. “Astrid. What brings you here?” I smiled at her, but she made me feel uncomfortable. Astrid didn’t like me, mostly because she didn’t know if I was loyal to Lagertha. It was interesting to see how protective she was over her, but it was also unsettling.

“Lagertha wants to see you. Right away.” She looked around the parts of the house she could see, as I already walked out into town, then she followed me.

“It must be great to have your husband back, I hope you enjoyed your reunion.” She then said to break the silence.

I smiled. “Yes, it is wonderful to have him back. But it also presents me with a challenge, because he is very unsettled by the whole situation.”

Astrid snorted. “Yeah, you could say that.” We had reached the door to the Great Hall and I entered, whereas Astrid remained outside. When my eyes got used to the half-darkness, I saw Lagertha sitting in front of the throne.

She looked up to me and smiled sadly. “It still feels weird to sit there. I still expect him to come back. It still feels like this is not my place.”

I frowned. “Oh, but the people think it is and that is most important. As long as your people support you, you have nothing to fear.”

“Not even your husband, who swore to kill me yesterday?” Her face turned serious.

It was no surprise that Ivar had threatened her, rather how fast he had done it. “Looks like he didn’t waste any time.” I quipped lightly.

“I told him, what I told you. That I did not wish to kill him. And it is true. I could use a brilliant mind like his.”

I looked at the floor and nodded my head. “So, you probably want me to talk to him. Get him to forget what you did?”

Lagertha gave a laugh. “Oh, I would, but I know now what you were talking about. He has a strength of will that knows no equal. Come here, sit with me.” She patted the ground to her side. I followed her instruction and felt a little like a dog.

“But why…what…?” Why did she call for me if not to get my husband to accept her?

Her hand found my thigh. “Be careful, Y/N. Your husband is not to be trifled with. Be careful how you tell him about our military bond. Take good care of him, maybe you can get him to calm down. But know when you are fighting a losing fight. I will not pit you against him, but I will fight him, if I have to, after all, he threatened my life.” her eyes held an enormous intensity when they met mine.

“Tell me, Lagertha, do you fear my husband?” I asked directly.

Her eyes darted from my face to the door and back, and I almost expected to be reprimanded. Then she gave a little, humorless laugh. “He is so young and so inexperienced, it is almost ridiculous, but he is unpredictable. And nothing is as dangerous as an unpredictable, angry young man. So, yes. Yes, I do fear him. But fear is no weakness; fear keeps you from underestimating people. But, Y/N, do you fear Ivar?”

I looked at the ground then back at her. Did I fear my husband? I shook my head, before I answered her. “No. No, I do not. I know he will not harm me.” He couldn’t. And he knew that he could not without consequences.

Lagertha smiled again. “Then I don’t know if you are brave or foolish. Or in love.”

My cheeks reddened and I looked at my hands. Then I looked up to Lagertha. Gave a slight nod.

She stroked my shoulder. “That is nothing to be ashamed of. Not in the least. It is a luxury many of us do not have.”

Then she stood and took a decisive breath. “Well, time to work on Kattegat’s future. There are some fortifications to be build that won’t build themselves.” And with that, she started to the door. I stayed behind for a short moment and looked at the throne. All of this drama, for a wooden chair. I shook my head and turned around, only to find Ivar linger in the doorway.

He smiled at me, but I could see that it was just a front. His thoughts were racing behind his eyes and one of them was what I was doing here.

“Ivar, good morning!” I smiled at him, my cheeks flushed.

He shook his head and smiled. “And how is that? How is this morning any good?” How was everything he said a challenge? I rolled my eyes.

“I heard you threatened to kill Lagertha, but she decided not to punish that.” I answered and I knew that was the wrong answer, but I needed him to tell me what bothered him. And making him exploed was usually the right way to know exactly where his head was at.

“She did not decide not to punish me, she cowardly rejected my challenge. But what is it to you?” His face was controlled, but his lips twitched into a snarl, as he drew closer to me. I was still sitting in front of the throne when he closed up to me.

“I owe her a debt. She gave me the military support I needed to reclaim Ripa, but I had to swear loyalty to her.”

Ivar gave a short humorless snort and cocked his head to the left. “So whose side are you going to choose when I have to kill her?” He put his finger beneath my chin and foced me to look him in the eyes. I coldly returned his stare.

“Well, how about you just turn your back on this forsaken town and come with me to Ripa? What is there left for you in Kattegat?”

“I need to avenge my mother and my father. I cannot leave this town before I have done both. This is my legacy, this is the path I need to follow. What would there be for me in Ripa?”

I looked at him and felt my eyes soften. “Me, we could rule together, we would have our own estate and you could be at its head. We could… we could be happy.” I hated how small my voice sounded at the end, how much I felt like begging him to come with me.

He dropped his hand and chuckled darkly. “Do you know what some of the last words were, some of the last words my father had for me?” Ivar didn’t wait for me to prompt him: “He told me that the whole world would know and fear me, if I used my anger wisely, that the future of our people rests in my hands. I told him that I did not want to be angry all the time, that maybe I wanted to be happy. Do you know, what he told me?”

I shook my head, worried. Ivar got closer, until I could feel his breath on my face. “He told me that happiness, happiness is nothing.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Well, then good luck with your anger and your revenge.” I got up quickly and walked away, knowing that he was not coming after me and that I had lost this battle. He hadn’t told me what was on his mind, but instead I had played my cards too early. The question was, what was left here in Kattegat for me?

When I stepped out into the open, I looked at the horizon and could see a storm brewing. I thought about turning back and giving Ivar a heads up, but then again, why bother? He did what he wanted, he had proven that much. And right now was not the right moment to feel pity with him. Still, my feet stilled and I turned around. As I reached the doors to the hall, I could see him sitting in front of the throne, knife in his hands. No, this was not the right moment to interrupt him, but I knew now to be more concerned about his actions. This was why Aslaug had chosen me. To save him from himself.

I let my feet guide me and found myself at the jetties, where Margarete helped the fishermen unload their catch of the day. Without much ado, I grabbed one of the baskets filled with fish and helped her carry it to the kitchen. She smiled at me when we had carried all the fish over and sat down.

“Who would have thought that an earl helps a simple slave with her daily tasks?” she grinned.

“You seem to be in a better mood. What happened?” I asked her and tried to look happy.

“Ubbe found me and asked me if he could keep seeing me.” Her smile was radiant and she hugged me suddenly, before she realised that that was not appropriate. Then again, neither was the fact that I helped her, so I just laughed.

“So, he isn’t angry that Lagertha used you?” I asked when I had caught my breath again.

“No, he knows I had no choice in the matter.”

I smiled at her, but I felt hollow. She noticed it right away.

“Something is not right with you, what did Ivar do this time?” she shuddered as she mentioned his name.

“He swore to kill Lagertha and then I asked him to leave Kattegat behind and come with me to Ripa, but he refused.”

A worried look crossed Margarete’s face. “You will never get Ivar out of Kattegat. He dreamt of ruling this place since he was a small boy. And now that he got his taste of battle, I fear he is like a feral dog that has tasted blood for the first time.”

“Oh Margarete, how I wish that I could tell you you are wrong, but I’m afraid that you might be more correct than I want to believe.”

She smiled at me. “But you know things about your husband he does not want to be known. You can still smaller his chances at becoming king. Maybe he will come with you, if he sees that there is nothing left here for him.”

“Be careful, Margarete. Don’t do anything rash. If Ivar decides to harm you, I cannot save you.”

She gave a nod. “I know. But I don’t want you to leave.”

I smiled sadly. “Well, I won’t as long as there is hope for my husband.”

I heard Ragnar’s voice as clear in Ivar’s mind as I saw the vision he had. Once again, his father was about to take my husband away from me on a quest that seemed hopeless. What was it with these Lothbroks? Did they not know when to surrender? When would it ever be enough?

Ivar did not come home that night. I didn’t know where he was, but I did not go out and look for him. This was a fight I could not win, I could not challenge the ghost of his dead father that told him to make a name for himself. Deeply frustrated, I didn’t fall asleep until the morning, which was also when I realised that Björn’s forces would probably return from the Mediterranean and with them, some of Ripa’s best warriors. Warriors that still did not know about the change of allegiance in Ripa. I had to go back, if only for a short time, to get my affairs in order. So, come morning, I got on my armour and packed my belongings, saddled my horse and went looking for Lagertha.

I found her on her way to help with the fortifications and she raised her eyebrows in wonder.

“Are you leaving for a battle I know nothing about?” she quipped, in a better mood than I had anticipated after learning the fate of her husband.

“No, that is… I hope not. Ragnar…I am sure the message of his death reached you as well as his sons.”

She gave a nod, smiling sadly. “Yes, but what does that have to do with you wearing your armour?”

“Björn and Hvitserk will probably return from the Mediterranean, to avenge their father. And with them, they will bring some of Ripa’s best warriors, who still know nothing about me being their earl now. And…”

Lagertha gave an appreciative smile. “You are an intelligent leader to think ahead to events like these. Ride to Ripa, prepare the town for their arrival and get them to swear you loyalty before you have to smoke out a rebellion. But ride through Hedeby and take Ragnheiđur with you. She knows how to handle situations like these. She is good in a crisis.” Lagertha smiled.

“And Hedeby? Who will take care of Hedeby?” I asked, confused.

“I will have Torvi and Astrid take care of it while the two of you are away. Once your warriors are settled, you send Ragnheiđur back and once you want to see your husband again, you will return to Kattegat.”

“What?”

“Ivar would never leave Kattegat now. Otherwise I would have asked you to take him and leave for Ripa a while ago. But we will manage. His anger will wear him out, one day. Just make sure you are safe, you are always free to return.” She inclined her head to me and I took a half bow, before she turned away to go upon her work.

On my way back to the house to fetch my bags, I finally ran into Ivar. The readied horse and my packed bags had piqued his interest and stoked his anger. When he saw me, he already half raced toward me. I always forgot how quick he was on his hands.

“You are not leaving!” he roared as he approached me.

I sidestepped him then went to grab my bags. He did not expect me to just not react in any way to his anger and sat there on the ground watching me slightly dumbfounded. Then he crawled after me.

“I have business to attend in my earldom. I know, it is of no interest of you, so I will spare you the details.” As the words left my mouth, I realised just how angry I was at his stubbornness. Bags in hand, I made my way to my horse and started tying the bags to the saddle. When Ivar reached the horse, he made to tear down the bag I had just tied to my horses back, but I only swatted at his hand, impatiently.

“Stop that, you are not a child. Use words, maybe that helps.” I didn’t even look at him, but continued my preparations.

“So you are leaving, now, when I need your support more than ever?” he asked in that innocent, manipulative sing-song voice of his.

I was about to lose my patience, so I drew in a long breath, closed my eyes, then looked at him. “I will not support your suicidal quest to sail to England, declare war on Aelle, and avenge your father, if that is what you are talking about.”

He tutted and drew himself up into a standing position, taking the wall of the house as support.

“Declare war on Aelle, no, my love, you are thinking way too small. We are going to raise the greatest army this world has ever seen and declare war on the world.”

“You and which army?” I asked impatiently.

His eyes sparkled with excitement. “We talked it through last night, Ubbe, Sigurd and I. We will raise an army...”

“Do you even hear yourself talk? Ivar, your father just died in a foreign country because no one was willing to follow him there, how are you going to raise an army?” I almost laughed in his face, but I was desperate for him to see how little chance of success this plan of his held. Could he not see that?

He bared his teeth in frustration. “The name Lothbrok still means something to our people. We will gather the greatest army England and the world has ever seen and you will be by my side!”

I frowned at him. “You want me to ride into battle with you?”

“What? No! You will stay in Kattegat while me and my brothers are going to bring war to the world. But you will be here, when I return with the tales of our great battles and successes.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Ivar, I have more pressing things to tend to. If my warriors want to support your cause, I will not keep them from following you, but I will not support you in this mad quest.”

He looked at me angrily then frowned. Suddenly, he looked very young and helpless.

“Are you… are you really leaving?” Only then did it seem to hit him and his face suddenly fell. He had never considered that I might actually leave, he had thought this a game of power.

“As I said, I have pressing matters that need addressing back in Ripa. I have responsibilities, I cannot shirk.” I looked to the ground as I said these words. I knew it was the worst possible moment for me to leave, but once Björn was here, it would be too late.

He took a step toward me, as close as the arm that supported him against the wall would let him. Then he tumbled forward. I caught him and he steadied himself against me. He was so close, but right now there were walls between us neither of us could break.

“Y/N”, he whispered, “Please don’t go. Don’t leave me alone with my thoughts.”

“Ivar, I have to go.” I pressed.

He softly touched my cheek. “Do you think there is happiness waiting for you in Ripa, when your husband is still here?” he asked, once again trying to manipulate me.

I shook my head, fighting tears. “I don’t”, I said through the lump in my throat, as I stared straight into his eyes: “But someone told me that happiness…happiness means nothing.”

His eyes widened at that, as I carefully led him toward the wall so he could support himself again.

“That was not what I meant…” he said quietly, but I already sat on the back of my horse.

“I think that was exactly what you meant. Goodbye, Ivar, may the Gods keep you in their favour while I am away.”

And with that I rode off, Ivar letting himself drop to the ground and trying to crawl after me for a moment. I could hear his frustrated howl, as I turned the corner and rode into the direction of Hedeby.

@youbloodymadgenius @xnnskwjeheb2j

#ivar #ivar the boneless #ivar lothbrok #ivar ragnarsson #ivar x reader #ivar the boneless x reader #ivar imagine #ivar the boneless imagine #vikings #ivar x you #history vikings #fates entwined

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melyaliz · 4 years

Text

Chapter 3 The Frayed Ends of Sanity

Thief and the Outlaw Masterlist

Fandom: Marvel / X-men

Summary:

Pairing: Peter x OC

Notes: The mystery continues. I’m not very good at suspenseful stories

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive

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Do not grieve, O King and Queen. Your daughter shall not die. I cannot undo what my elder sister has done; the princess shall indeed prick her finger with the spindle, but she shall not die. She shall fall into sleep that will last a hundred years. At the end of that time, a king’s son will find her and awaken her. - Sleeping Beauty

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Gemma had always loved fairytales as a kid. Not your classic Disney movies (although those were great too) but the weird stuff, the originals. Her mother had given her a book of old fables which the young girl had devoured. She adored how the heroes would fight for their fates while the villains would make some weird mistake, would slip up and meet their demise so that the heroes could win.

Gemma also loved how in those stories the ideas were so outlandish. A girl out in a glass cage because she was too beautiful her parents were worried someone would try and take her away.

A stepmother cutting off her daughter’s own toe just so it would fit in a shoe. Just to catch the eye of a prince.

Or a girl sleeping for a million years only to have a man come and kiss her. Wake her from the spell she had been put under.

Normally the princesses never asked for their lots in life, just becoming a tool for some vindictive evil to reach their revenge.

Although Gemma was jealous of one thing.

At least the princesses got some rest.

-----

It was cold.

That was Gemma’s first thought as she stirred from her slumber. The night air giving her goosebumps. Had she left a window open? Shivering she tried to reach for her blanket only to realize she wasn’t in her bed. Had she fallen again?

Slowly she opened her eyes her world coming into view.

Large trees looked back shading her from an early morning sky. The sun just slowly starting to turn the dark blue into shades of pink and gold. The ground crunching under her as she moved, something poked her in the rib.

This wasn’t her bedroom.

Sitting up she gasped looking around. Why was she outside? Where was she? What was going on?

Her head was pounding as if her heart had decided to reside there hammering against her skull. Her whole body ached as if she had spent the at a metal concert in the mosh pit.

Rubbing her arm trying to get the blood flowing to warm herself up she looked around trying to get her bearings. She was in a forest but there were a lot of forests around her home in New Jersey. Most not very expansive, but this cleaning of nature could be anywhere.

Letting out a sigh she tried to calm her brain. Tried to remember how she had gotten her. Had she been drugged?

The last thing she remembered was sitting on the bus with that weird boy listening to music.

The boy.

There was no way. She hadn’t eaten anything and they sat far enough apart she would have felt something.

Looking down she realized something else.

She wasn’t in her work clothes.

Instead, she was in a black long sleeve shirt and jeans. The jeans looked pretty beat up and the shirt was missing a sleeve.

“What the actual…”

“Gemma?”

At the sound of her name, she looked up.

And there he was.

The boy.

Ok man but…

“What are you… Where am I?”

“Are you ok? I called the police…”

“What… How?”

He knelt down next to her a few feet away. His large brown eyes looking her over as if looking over a wounded animal. His voice gentle, “You’ve been missing for a week.”

“I’ve WHAT!?!” her voice felt horse as if she had been screaming -maybe the concert idea wasn’t too far fetched-. A hand flew up to her chest. Was she going crazy? She had just lost a week and work up in totally different clothes feeling like she had been run over by a bus.

“Shhh shhh” he said scooting closer, “You’re going to be ok.”

She turned to him her blue eyes wide and accusingly. Why was he here? How had he found her? How did he know it had been a week?

“GEMMA!” This voice she instantly recognized. Her father. Her mother’s sobs could be heard as well as the barking of a dog. Looking past the silver-haired boy she saw her parents and a few policemen, one tugging on the leash of a german shepherd- coming toward her.

Her father reached her first rushing to her taking her in his arms hugging, “Where have you been?” he pulled away running his hands over her face studying her, “What happened?”

“I… I don’t know dad. I was going to work and then… I was here.”

“Did someone drug you? Is it that one guy from your work? Paul? Did he touch you?”

“No, dad… I… Honestly” she looked up at her mother who was sobbing, the relief they had found her daughter causing her to cry uncontrollably, “I don’t remember anything.”

“Maybe this had someone to do with...” Her mother started but Gemma’s father cut her off turning shaking his head. The man turned toward their audience. The two policemen and the scruffy haired bus rider.

Gemma met her finder’s eyes for a moment. He shifted slightly looking awkwardly between her and her parents as if he wasn’t sure if he should leave or not.

“Thank you for finding our daughter...” Gemma’s father stood holding out his hand.

“Peter”

“Thanks, kid” taking Peter’s hand he shook it before turning to the cops. “We’re going to take her home,”

The cops nodded one of them handing Gemma a blanket to wrap her body around. She didn’t realize she was shaking until her mother wrapped her arms around her kissing her forehead mumbling “my baby girl”

Gemma turned studying the boy, Peter. Hand’s shoved in his pockets he met her gaze through shaggy hair his expression unreadable. So different from the silly energetic weird boy on the bus. He seemed so serious now. Not in a scary way but almost like he was confused maybe?

Then again he had just found a girl who had been apparently missing a week and couldn’t remember any of it.

“How did you find me?” she finally asked looking up at her parents as she buckled herself into the back seat of the car. Her mother scooting up next to her as if not wanting to leave her side.

“We knew you were missing when your work called.” her mother let out a strangled sob at the memory. “You never showed up”

“Nancy…”

“I’m sorry I was just so scared. Sweetie, is it your powers? Are they evolving further? Maybe we should go back to that doctor?”

Her parents lapsed into silence waiting for her answer. Gemma looked out the window unsure how to respond. “I don’t think it’s my powers, I don’t know what it is,” she muttered looking down at her hands.

“That boy, I think he’s the one who called us. Saying he found our lost daughter and where to be. Do you know him?”

Gemma bit her lip, should she tell them? It would only worry them more. No, she needed to figure this out for herself first. She needed more facts before she dragged them into this.

“No. Guess he just found me in the forest.”

“How did he know to call us?”

The question sent a chill down her spine.

How did he?

---------------------------

Drew greeted her with a hug and a plate of pizza.

“I even ordered gross mushrooms just for you,” he mumbled shifting from foot to foot as if unsure what to do with himself. Something about it reminded Gemma of the boy in the forest.

Peter.

After dinner she told her parents she was going to bed, tired and sore she just wanted to sleep this whole experience away. A small part of her hoped maybe she would just wake up and it would all be a bad dream

Unfortunately sleep didn’t come as easy as she hoped. Instead, she just laid there looking up at her ceiling trying to piece together that had happened.

What was wrong with her?

Finally, the clock ticked 1am and she gave up. Sleep wasn’t coming.

Sitting up she shuffled across the room pulling a book off the shelf. Fairytales and folktales. Slowly she walked back to her bed and that was when she saw him.

Standing outside her window, leaning against the large oak in her backyard.

Their eyes locked, his brown ones growing wide and he turned about to bolt.

But he couldn’t.

A bright blue wall blocked his way.

“You STAY!” she hissed from her window before scrambling through the window climbing down from the second floor. Something she used to do all the time in her teen years. Sneaking out to meet friends on school nights.

Peter turned watching her as she stormed up to him. Hands glowing eyes bright, angry.

“Who are you and what do you want with me?” The girl stood there in her sweat pants and tank top eyes flashing with sparks of energy. Something he had only seen when she wasn’t Gemma. When she was that other girl.

“I’m just checking in” he shrugged looking down at her a soft smile playing on his lips. Now that she wasn’t trying to take him or his team down he realized how much smaller she was than him. Her head coming to about his chin, her frame looking even smaller in a tight tank top and baggy sweats.

“Oh really? Seems kind of creepy, you standing outside my window, showing up on my bus ride to work, the first to find me in the woods...” her arms crossed over her chest trying to look scary. He wasn’t sure why she didn’t scar him. She had kicked his butt more times than he could count at this point. Maybe it had something to do with the fluffy cloud pattered sweats she was wearing.

“I wasn’t the one who put you there if that’s what you’re asking”

“Then why are you always around?” Gemma asked studying the boy trying to find the answers.

“Why do you think? Do you really not remember?” his voice was low as if he was telling her a secret.

She took a step back sizing him up. Studying him as if he had the answers for her lost week. He waited for the realization. He really didn’t look all THAT different without the suit.

“Did we go to school together?”

“What!?! NO.” how could she not… “The power plant? You and your three friends… there was a bunch of wiz bang.” Peter made a few motions like explosions and lasers. This earned him nothing but a blank stare. There was no way. “Look come on, there is no way…” he reached out for her hand and that’s when it happened.

Their hands touched and it was like lighting. Cracking between them as their hands touched. Peter felt it pulled from him exploding into her. Bright blue and sparking with an energy that lit up the whole neighborhood for just an instant.

The force of it threw them both backward laying in the grassy lawn just blinking at each other.

“What just happened?” Gemma asked her eyes sparkling with the energy that flicked around her before slowly dying like sapphire embers.

Peter shrugged getting up feeling his body quickly regenerating itself, “What can I say? I have an explosive personality” darting over he stood above her. Showing his speed to her for the first time that night.

Gemma looked up at him from her seat, her mind racing hands still warm from the surge of energy. Peter held out his hand to help her up “let’s try this again?” he said a large smile on his face.

Warry she studied it for a moment before slowly slipping her fingers around his open hand. “You’re a mutant like me.”

Peter nodded, “I’m pretty fast yeah” he winked as her which earned him a small smile.

“I knew there were others I just never met one.” she told him her hand still clasping his “Hey what” her hand went up to her neck pulling away as he had leaned forward trying to get closer to her. His eyes went from her shoulder to her eyes face so close she could see the stubble on his cheeks and the flecks of gold in his brown eyes.

“Huh.” and like that he was standing a much more normal distance from her.

“What?”

“You really don’t remember me at all? Honest.”

“Besides the bus and today, no. Why?” she wracked her brain trying to think of where she had seen this boy before. She couldn’t very well say her dreams. That was weird, creepy and also made no sense.

“Ok well, see you around then.” he gave her a mock salute before disappearing into the dark night leaving only a gust of wind in his wake. Gemma frowned biting her lip as she wrang her hands feeling even more confused than before.

As Peter raced toward the Xsavior Mansion his mind was racing as well. Everything clicking together. If they hadn’t touched. If her long blonde hair hadn’t flown forward while she had turned to see the ground before she hit it.

He wouldn’t have glimpsed it. At the base of her neck. Siting there snugly like a tick embedded in her skin.

And it all made sense now.

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